The Beginning After The End
by Plusle
Summary: Lloyd finds himself stuck on Earth. Lloyd/OC based, post-game.
1. Earthbound

**Summary: **Lloyd finds himself stuck on Earth. Lloyd/OC based, post-game.

**Author's Notes: **Warning – This story is primarily a Lloyd/OC romance set on Earth (just outside London, England to be exact). If you don't like I recommend you stop reading right now! It takes place almost a year after the end of the game (although in this story there is no ToS game, the events were real and happened in a separate dimension to ours), and is going to be quite lengthy. For those still reading – I hope you enjoy this (please review!) and I do plan to write through to its conclusion. Thank you.

There was a strange boy standing in the middle of the road.

Reimi blinked.

He was still there. With spiky brown hair and a sort of red dungaree outfit he was the most conspicuous thing on the uniformly grey high street.

And also apparently the stupidest. Even children knew not to play in the middle of the road, what was he doing?

She slowed her pace to watch him. He had his back to her and was clutching what looked like two sword scabbards on both hips. A few cars beeped their horns as they rushed past and the boy jumped back into the other lane with a slight look of panic on his face.

Reimi was about to call out and ask if he needed any help when she heard the loud wailing siren of an ambulance drawing swiftly closer. Looking from the boy to the oncoming vehicle she realised he was frozen to the spot, almost hypnotised. There was no way for the ambulance to avoid him because of the heavy traffic in the other lane and it was too late for them to slow down.

Her feet moved before her mind did.

Charging forwards, the sound of car horns blaring all around her, she pushed the boy backwards, away from the vehicle and onto the pavement, just in time.

There was a heavy thud and they landed sprawled in the gutter.

"Are you alright?" She asked breathlessly and hurriedly disentangled herself. The boy had landed on his front, the same as her but hadn't raised his head yet. She cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder then jerked it back as he groaned and raise himself off the ground into a sitting position.

"I-I think so…," his unfocused brown eyes met hers. Reimi gasped as she saw a huge red bump on his head where his face had collided with the pavement. A small stream of blood was trickling down.

"You're bleeding!" She stood up and hurriedly searched for the tissues at the bottom of her bag.

"You alright, love?" A voice drifted over. She found they had landed behind a parked taxi and that the voice was coming from a head peering out the front seat.

"H-hospital," she stuttered, looking from the boy, who still had a dazed expression on his face, to the taxi driver; a thick well-built man smoking a cigarette out the car window. "I'm going to take you to the hospital, okay?" she told the boy.

"No, it's alright. I'm… alright, I just…," he looked around blankly, still in shock.

"Can you take us to the Mayday please?" Reimi asked the taxi driver.

"Sure, should be about a fiver,"

"That's fine,"

She drew the boy round to the back seat of the taxi and helped him in. He barely seemed to notice the change, then got in herself and closed the door. The taxi sped off.

"You both alright?"

"I think so," Reimi replied when the boy said nothing, his eyes widened, staring first round the inside of the taxi and then at the buildings and traffic out of the window.

"Shouldn't be hanging around in the road, kid," the driver addressed the boy who continued his silence.

Reimi decided to change the conversation and started talking to the driver about high bus prices, which killed time until they pulled up outside of Mayday Hospital some minutes later.

"Thanks," Reimi said and pressed a scrunched up five-pound note into his hand before stepping out onto the pavement. The boy was still in the vehicle but after a cough from the driver, followed her example and joined her on the pavement.

"Hope it's nothing serious. You know… up there," the driver pointed towards his head.

Reimi smiled politely and began walking towards the building with the boy at her side.

Just as they were reaching the entrance he stopped dead, seeming to awaken for the first time.

"Where am I?"

Reimi, noticing he was no longer beside her, backtracked.

"The hospital. Isn't this your local one?"

"No," he fixed her gaze on her once more. "Where is this?"

Reimi was thrown for a moment by the strange question and didn't answer.

"One minute I was talking with Kratos and the next there was a bright light and I was here," he seemed to be talking to himself as much as to her.

"Does this Kratos have a number I can call?" Reimi reached into her bag and took her phone out. The boy just stared, first at the phone and then at her.

"…What?" Reimi started to feel a little scared.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Reimi. I live just down the road from here. How about you?"

"Lloyd… But I'm sorry I… I…" he held his head in his hands for a moment and screwed his eyes shut.

"Let's go see the doctor. I'll come with you, okay? I'm sure he can help," she tried to add a reassuring tone to her voice but it just sounded small and worried. The boy reluctantly followed her into the building.

After checking in at the desk, Lloyd was taken off by one of the nurses and Reimi was left by herself in the waiting room, surrounded by various other patients, relatives and hospital staff.

She waited for what seemed an age before Lloyd re-appeared, a bandage wrapped round his head and accompanied by the doctor. He seemed to have calmed down a little and his eyes were no longer darting about the room, constantly taking in his surroundings.

"You're still here?" He gave a faint smile and addressed Reimi as the doctor walked past and went to speak with the nurse.

Reimi smiled back and stood up. "How are you feeling?"

"Well my head hurts… but other then that I'm okay. Thanks for waiting,"

"No prob," she waved the apology off. "Had to make sure you're alright,"

"Miss Reimi, is it?" The doctor interrupted as Lloyd was about to continue. "May I speak with you for a moment please?"

"Huh? …Okay," confused, she followed the doctor to a room that served as a small office while Lloyd waited behind.

"Are you a relative of Lloyd's?" the doctor asked when the door had closed behind them.

"No… He was just in an accident so I brought him here. I've never met him before,"

"Ah… Well do you know if he had anyone with him before the accident? Or perhaps a mobile telephone that could have fallen out of his pocket?"

"I don't think so… No one came forward for him at the time,"

The doctor sighed and rubbed his forehead frustratedly. "His head trauma seems to have triggered some quite serious memory loss. We have no means of contacting his relatives or people who might know who he is. He also doesn't appear on any of our records so he's definitely not a local patient of ours,"

"He mentioned someone called Kratos that he was with before the accident…"

"Yes… He told us as much but most of what he said didn't make any sense. I wonder, are you in a hurry at the moment?"

"Not really. I was just on my way home from work but no evening plans as such,"

"Then would you be able to take Lloyd back to the scene of his accident and see if he remembers anything? Or maybe even if you can find his phone if he has one? We're a little short-staffed and can't send any people of our own."

"Okay," Reimi nodded. "It's on my way back anyway,"

"Ah good," the doctor's expression fell into one of relief. "I'm sorry to ask this of you since you've been so kind already… But if you find nothing, bring him back here and we'll think of something I'm sure but for now… That would be the best option,"

"Sure," the doctor held the door open and the two of them stepped back into the waiting room.

"Oh and one more thing…," he quickly said as Reimi was about to return to Lloyd who had begun walking to the exit. "We had to confiscate some property from him; a couple of swords he had on his belt. Maybe he's just one of these 'coss play' people I keep hearing about but just in case, be careful. Best to not trust strangers,"

Reimi vaguely registered seeing sword scabbards when Lloyd was in the road, she had forgotten about them in the confusion that had followed.

"I'll stick to the main roads," He watched her leave the hospital through its main doors, meet up with Lloyd and walk off.

'I hope I did the right thing…' he thought to himself.

Outside the two of them walked back the way they had come. As the hospital path joined with the main road, Lloyd turned as he walked and stared at the lines of cars in the street, now piling up due to rush hour.

"What's up?" Reimi asked, catching his gaze.

"So, what exactly are these things?" he pointed at the closest car and swivelled his head round to face her.

"...The cars?"

"Cars. Are they like Rhieards but on the ground then?"

She frowned. "I don't kno… they're just… cars.. hey," she trailed off and began to frown as she noticed something, "Your swords are back,"

Lloyd looked down at them, "Yeah,"

"Didn't the doctor take them away?"

"Yeah he did but I took them back. My dad made these for me," he replied proudly. "Pretty cool, aren't they?"

"Are you a cosplayer?"

Lloyd just looked blank.

"They're not real… are they?"

Lloyd nodded.

She looked over her shoulder at the hospital entrance back the way they had come but no one seemed to be pursuing them, yet.

"I don't know what it's like where you're from Lloyd but here it's illegal to carry a weapon,"

"But what about the monsters? Who deals with them here?"

She frowned but asked "What do these monsters look like?" despite herself.

"There are all kinds. There aren't any monsters here?"

Reimi's mind boggled, despite her disbelief in his words, his expression seemed one of genuine honesty so Reimi kept going and played along for the ten minutes it took to return to the accident site. She explained to Lloyd about cars and other basic things they came across like parking meters, aeroplanes (which apparently were similar to the 'Rhieards' he had mentioned earlier) and certain foods at a stall. Albeit this was not in great detail since Lloyd seemed to be forever distracted by the next thing that came along.

She couldn't help but laugh a little after the fifth or sixth time it had happened. "You're a very strange individual,"

"What! I seem to be the only normal one here!" he cried back, though sensing it was not to be taken as offence, smiled a little too.

"Well, here we are," she stopped and surveyed the area. It was a little busier than earlier, but they had arrived at the road Lloyd had been standing in at the beginning.

"Do you remember anything before being in the road?"

Lloyd walked a little closer to the pavement's edge and looked down at the tarmac river.

"It's a bit of a blur, but I remember being at Derris Kharlan. I went after Kratos and he was going to come home with me… But then, I was here. I don't know why,"

"Derris Kharlan, is that someone's house?"

"It's a huge palace up at the top of the Tower of Salvation... Huh… Strange, I can't see it from here,"

"Okay… And did you see anyone else? Is there anyone here you know or recognize?"

He took a moment to check but then shook his head. "Everything here is so new. Maybe this is another world I've found,"

Reimi was beginning to seriously worry, it was frustrating enough that most of the things Lloyd said sounded like nonsense, but it was nonsense he obviously believed which made the situation a little dangerous. That plus the fact he had weapons on him freaked her out. She could take him back to the hospital, maybe? Let them deal with him; perhaps he was an escaped mental patient, nice as he seemed.

"Let's go back to the hospital, I don't think there's anything I can do to help you… Maybe they can get in contact with someone you know,"

Lloyd turned away. "They didn't believe me there either. It's okay Reimi you've been kind enough, thank you for helping me this much. I think I'll just try to find my way back on my own,"

"O-oh, no," she stiffened, "I really didn't do anything. I'm sorry I couldn't help,"

"You helped, I just need to think about this a little more, it was nice to meet you anyway. I appreciate it, I really owe you one," he reached out a hand and she slowly obliged, thoughts still racing through her mind of what she should do. He shook it before turning and walking away.

"Don't go running into the road anymore, okay," she called out after him as he walked off, waving backwards with his hand.

Reimi sighed and giving him one last look to make sure he hadn't wandered into the path of any more cars, begun to walk back home.


	2. A Temporary Living Arrangement

**Author's Notes: **Wow, a follow and a lovely review already, thanks guys :D Bear with me this chapter as I get all the background stuff in motion. And I love OC fics too Regal Bryant Lover, just difficult to find any good ones!

Home for Reimi was a small flat shared with two other girls very close by. They had met on the Internet, all three of them looking for accommodation that was cheap just outside the town centre with close public transportation and this place was ideal. Reimi had her own room but everything else was communal.

As she was walking the couple of minutes to reach the corner of the road that led to her street she saw a familiar face.

"Elsa?"

The older girl turned at her name and caught sight of Reimi, worry visibly melting from her features. "There you are! Everything okay?! We haven't been able to get through to your mobile for ages!"

Reimi started, guiltily realizing that she had turned it off when she entered the hospital, as was the policy.

"I got caught up at the hospital, I'm so sorry Elsa!"

"Hospital?! What happened are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, it was someone else…," Reimi proceeded to tell her the story as the two of them headed back to their home and rode the elevator up to the 4th floor, the one on which they lived.

Elsa stuffed the key into the lock and ushered Reimi inside the brightly lit hallway, calling "Got her!"

"'Bout time! Let's eat!"

Reimi entered the living room to see her other housemate Amy grabbing a couple of pre-packaged meals from the microwave and three china plates which she laid out on the small coffee table. The three girls sat down and begun eating.

"What kept you?" Amy asked between mouthfuls.

Elsa, with Reimi occasionally correcting or giving additions to the story, told Amy about the strange encounter that afternoon.

"Why bother? What if he was a nutcase who wanted nothing more than to kill you? Or do other unmentionable things for that matter,"

"I don't know. One thing led to another and it all just sort of happened. I couldn't just leave the guy in the road, plus I might have been the one to have given him brain damage from pushing him over,"

"Reimi, he was wearing a bright red dungaree outfit in the middle of a London street. I think he was already a little brain damaged. Also, in grave need of some fashion advice,"

They all laughed. "Seriously though," Elsa spoke, "You're being too nice. Leave heroics to the professionals and just concentrate on training that musical brain of yours,"

Reimi flushed with embarrassment and spoke a little quieter. "But what if he had died? I could never forgive myself,"

"Ahhh, you're worrying too much!" Amy ruffled her hair a little. "Now, be a dear and next time you decide to go save people, keep your phone on! Stops us from worrying, alright?"

Reimi grinned and shrugged. "I don't make the rules, I just break 'em,"

"Eyy that's my line!" the three of them laughed again and finished the food off before heading their separate ways for the night. Amy catching up on her soaps, reclining on the sofa, Elsa going to her room to catch up with her emails and Reimi to shower and get ready for the next day of work.

Her thoughts kept returning to Lloyd though, she hoped he was okay and that she had done the right thing. Both by not helping him further and also for not calling the hospital.

'By now they've probably assumed he found his way back,' she mused to herself. 'I hope they're right…,'

* * *

The next day, still stiff from sleep, Reimi packed up the few items she needed for work into her bag and set off, shouting a goodbye to Elsa as she did so, Amy already having gone off to college.

Reimi's job was as a runner at a music production studio. She had been working there for some months now and while on the surface she seemed to specialize at making coffee and running around on errands like crazy, her real dream was to join an orchestra as a pianist. Well for starters anyway…

She sighed wistfully, the amount of times she had seen fresh new talent come in and make it big… she knew that if her bosses gave her the chance she could get somewhere too. The only problem was that unlike the other entrants Reimi had no financial support from her parents to get her started, so she was having to work her way up from the very bottom, hoping one day they would take her seriously and listen to her play with their full attention.

Shaking her head to chase the daydreams away she concentrated on crossing the road, looking right and left before freezing as something caught at the corner of her vision. A flash of red.

Stepping back she cautiously walked towards the conspicuous colour, draped on a bench nearby. She was used to seeing miscreants loiter there and normally went out of her way to avoid them but today she only hesitated for a second before approaching the sleeping figure.

"…Lloyd?"

The boy slowly opened his eyes and blearily looked up at her. There were dark bags under them, his hair was unkempt and his clothes rumpled but there could be no mistaking him as the person she had met yesterday.

"Hi Reimi," he stifled a yawn and sat up properly, settling his feet from the bench back onto the pavement. "What's up?"

"What's up… Erm… I don't know, what's up.. with.. you?" she spoke uncertainly, thinking of the best way to address why he was sleeping on the bench outside like a hobo.

"Oh, right. Well, I figured that I'll wait here until I can find a way back to my own world. This is where I first appeared so there must be some kind of a magical portal linking this place to Derris Kharlan. I just have to wait for it to open again," he assented drowsily.

"But… what if you have to wait a really long time? Like… What if… it never opens again?"

Lloyd's face drooped a little, as though the possibility hadn't occurred to him, but he waved it off a moment later. "No, it will open again, and when it does I'll be ready," he pumped his arms together in assent and then froze as his stomach let out a low growl in protest.

"So you're going to stay on this bench outside and live off air? Wouldn't you rather go back to the hospital? Maybe someone turned up in the night looking for you,"

"I'm not going back there and anyway I'm fine, really. I've been through far worse than this and I know I won't have too long to wait, I can feel it,"

Reimi was about to answer when she heard the sound of a throat being cleared behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw a uniformed police officer standing a few steps away, monitoring the two of them carefully.

"We've gotten a couple of reports down at the station this morning of an armed youth roaming the streets so I came down to check it out and if I'm not mistaken, I've found him,"

Lloyd frowned at her, "What? Who are you?"

"Ah!" Reimi was gripped with a sudden fear. "No no no no, I'm sorry officer," she stepped in front of Lloyd. "I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding. My brother here is attending a videogame convention this afternoon and he's dressed up for it, swords and all. They're fake, of course. Unfortunately I've just come to tell him that Dad's running late at work, so he won't be able to pick you up for another couple of hours Lloyd," Reimi turned to the subject of the conversation, his expression still one of slight confusion.

"Is that right?" the policewoman questioned Lloyd. Reimi raised her eyebrows urgently at him.

"…Yeah. I'm sorry officer, I didn't realise I might be seen as a threat,"

"If I could just see the swords to make sure…"

With a quick look at Reimi first who was panicking too much to think up a speedy response, he slowly removed the two swords from their scabbards.

One was a faded red colour, the other a faded blue but both looked quite shabby and blunt. Reimi let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding while Lloyd looked at them in confusion.

"What…"

"Alright then. That'll do. But both of you should go home before I decide to take you to the station for loitering,"

"Hang on, these aren't-"

"Thanks," Reimi butted in, grabbing Lloyd's arm and pulling him down the street the way she had come. Once they had turned the corner and the policewoman was out of sight Reimi let go and leant against the wall in relief. "That was really close,"

"What happened to my swords?!" Lloyd asked, taking them out again and giving them a look over. "They're blunt now… and the mana powering them has vanished… Do you guys have low mana in this world or something?"

Reimi closed her eyes in frustration and lowered her head muttering, "What are we going to do…,"

There was silence for a moment, then her thoughts were interrupted by Lloyd's voice.

"Hey, Reimi? Why'd you do that?"

"Hm?" she opened her eyes and found the brunette staring at her.

"You keep helping me. There's no reason for you to," his head was tilted to one side, almost like an inquisitive child.

"I just… It just seems to happen," when Lloyd frowned a little she pushed on. "I just keep thinking that maybe when you fell into the road, it… jumbled your head up. And that's my fault, so I can't not help,"

Lloyd turned his head to one side, mumbling; "It didn't. Anyway, I'm all better now," Reimi noticed the bandage was no longer round his head although there was a nasty bruise in its place near his hairline.

"Okay. Well that's good. But now what are we going to do with you?" she spoke the last bit half to herself.

"I think that police lady's gone now, I'll go find somewhere else to sit and keep waiting."

"No way, you'll be arrested within the hour. You're too conspicuous…"

"Everyone says that back home too," his stomach made another angry groan and he covered it with his hands embarrassed.

Something seemed to click in Reimi's brain and she pushed herself away from the wall "Come with me for a minute, okay?"

* * *

"Elsa?"

Reimi pushed the door open and listened for her housemate's reply. After receiving none Reimi figured she must have left for work and so entered the apartment, motioning Lloyd to follow her in.

"So, where is this?" he asked her after closing the door behind them.

"Take a seat by that window," she pointed at a couch on the west side of the room before vanishing through another door. Lloyd slowly obliged and looking outside realised he had a perfect view of the road they had just come from and the surrounding neighbourhood.

He was about to call out to Reimi when she appeared behind him, holding out a packaged sandwich.

"This way you can keep an eye on the road and eat at the same time,"

Lloyd looked from the food to Reimi's face. "For me?"

She nodded and passed it into his hesitant hands before taking an adjacent seat and focusing her gaze out the window. Lloyd watched her for a moment.

"Thank you,"

Reimi nodded then stood up as she heard the kettle whistle in the kitchen. "Oh, the drinks…," she rushed through the door but peeked back in to say "Is hot chocolate okay? I don't like coffee or tea so I don't keep any in the house,"

Lloyd chuckled tiredly. "Strange choice of beverage for breakfast but I'll take it," Reimi grinned.

Five minutes later the cups and plates were back in the kitchen, slowly soaking in the warm water Reimi had just boiled and poured from the kettle. She added some washing up liquid then dried her hands and returned to the living room to find Lloyd leaning against the window, eyes closed.

Silently walking towards him she edged closer and realised he had drifted into sleep. She paused for a moment before tip-toeing into her bedroom and returning with a blanket. Draping it over Lloyd and putting a cushion under his head in case he moved, she picked up the receiver to the house phone, took it into her room and dialled a number.

"Hello? I'm afraid I can't make it in today…"

* * *

Several hours later Lloyd became aware of voices.

"…situation can't work, it's a bad idea!"

An unfamiliar girl's voice and from the sound of it, in the middle of an argument.

"Why not? He's pretty cute,"

A different girl's voice this time. Lloyd frowned, where was he again?

"Ssh, please don't wake him up you guys,"

Reimi. He opened his eyes… And found another's in front of his. Jerking his head back it knocked against the wall and rubbed his head in pain. Looking up he saw three girls in front of him. The closest and the one who had surprised him was a short-haired blonde girl kneeling on the floor, an older closely-cropped black haired girl stood further back with a disapproving look on her face and to the left, a girl with long brown hair - Reimi. She gave him a small smile.

"Wha… Uh… H-hello?" he said tentatively, confused and a little embarrassed by the sudden attention.

"Sorry to have woken you, Lloyd these are my two house mates – Elsa and Amy. Elsa and Amy, this is the guy I was telling you about; Lloyd,"

Amy pulled some strands of hair behind her ear then offered Lloyd her hand. "Oh wow! You're American!" she squealed. "Nice to meet you, Lloyd,"

"Huh? Er… You too," He shook it quickly then, thinking it the polite thing to do, offered it to Elsa. "Nice to meet you,"

Elsa sighed but took it all the same. "Yeah…"

Lloyd was properly returning to his senses now, he looked outside the window and found it was dark outside.

"I fell asleep… How long was I asleep?" He felt panic well up inside of him.

"You didn't miss anything," Reimi stepped forward and gestured outside, "I was checking, nothing's happened since this morning,"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. And I didn't mean to fall asleep," he bowed his head. "I seem to keep troubling you,"

"Not at all," Amy chimed in. "It's nice having guests over,"

"It would be nicer if we knew he wasn't a serial killer or something," Elsa intoned and Lloyd flinched at the harshness in her words.

"I keep telling you he isn't," Reimi sighed. "He could have killed me at least five times by now,"

"Doesn't mean he won't still do it,"

"Please don't fight, I'll leave," he stood up, ready to leave but Reimi held her hands up in a 'wait a minute' signal.

"Actually Lloyd, we were talking and-,"

"Won't you stay a bit longer?" Amy cut across her. "We've only just met you and your friends aren't here yet,"

Lloyd frowned, "I really should get going. But thanks, and thanks for the food and hot chocolate, Reimi," He made for the door but the girls were still in his way.

"Hot chocolate? Oh geez Reimi.. no wonder he fell asleep," Elsa face-palmed.

"I don't have the ingredients to make anything else," she looked down in embarrassment "and there was no juice left in the fridge."

Elsa ruffled her hair but not in an unkind way. Amy turned from her housemates back to Lloyd.

"Reimi's already filled us in. Your friends are going to meet you over there, right?" She pointed out the window to the view of the street. Lloyd nodded. "Then it makes sense for you to stay a little bit longer. We won't force you but wouldn't you rather be in the company of three lovely ladies then on your own in the cold outside? With the police around? And no food?"

"Well…," Lloyd was unsure what to say.

"Amy…," Elsa said.

"Come on, Elsa! It's not like we can just leave him like this,"

"Weren't you the one yesterday telling Reimi not to bother with things like this?"

"Well yeah but… that was before we met him and saw he was actually not the creepy older guy that we thought and is instead a young, cute American guy," she laughed.

Elsa huffed at her comment and placed her hands on her hips.

Lloyd was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable, a mixture of not being wanted and feeling suffocated. Reimi stepped in.

"Lloyd, I know this is unfair of me, but for peace of mind would you stay a little longer? We're about to eat dinner now and you're welcome to join us as you wait, you can still see the street from here". After all Reimi had done for him, Lloyd couldn't refuse her.

"Yay! Let's order out!" Amy cheered and Elsa slumped on the couch in defeat.

"Just don't come crying to me when there's a knife stuck in your back,"

The evening was a blur. It almost felt like an interrogation rather than a meal – he was bombarded with questions by Amy and grilled again and again on the facts by Elsa. He kept looking out the window constantly for any sign of Kratos, his world or his friends, but nothing happened and Lloyd was beginning to feel as though he had not slept at all.

The reaction of the other girl's to his story was the same as Reimi's – disbelief and, in Elsa's case, ridicule. Eventually, Lloyd was able to relax a bit as the conversation became lighter and they talked about more normal things. Well, normal to them. Lloyd didn't understand a lot of what they were saying and towards the end began to tune out as Amy talked nonstop about herself – her classes, her recently dumped boyfriend and things like her favorite foods/places. Reimi tried her best to fill him in when he was confused but she didn't say much in general and looked out the window more than anything. As it got to around midnight, he began yawning more frequently and Elsa decided it was time for serious talk once again.

"Lloyd, I have to say I'm surprised. After having spent the evening with you, I'm beginning to feel like I understand you a little better. I could live to regret it and be wrong but… I no longer think you're a serial killer,"

"…Thanks, I think?" Lloyd replied.

"From what Reimi tells me and from what I've heard tonight you seem to be pretty clueless about a lot of things. Maybe you had a sheltered upbringing and were raised to believe in magic and dwarves and things.. Maybe you've suffered a bout of amnesia… Whatever the case, my point is you have nowhere to go and we have a small spare room here that we use when guests are round. What would you think about staying with us for a day or two until your friends show up? Luckily it's the weekend tomorrow so we can keep an eye on you, I don't trust you enough to leave you alone here but at least now that I've met you I feel a little more reassured then when Reimi first pitched the idea to me,"

Lloyd turned to Reimi.

"Look, I really really appreciate what you've done, you have no idea but… I'm used to sleeping rough, I'm used to scraping by. I don't need charity. You don't need to feel guilty about me hitting my head; it wasn't your fault,"

Reimi looked down at her feet uncomfortably. "I know, but I still can't help but worry, especially because you don't know this area,"

Reimi reminded Lloyd of another girl. Someone he had known since his childhood. He realized they had a very similar quality. _She likes to help people, it doesn't matter who it is_.

"…No, I'm sorry," Lloyd quieted down but looked at her thoughtfully.

"That's what Reimi's like, she's a worrier," Elsa sighed, "It's a curse, really," but her tone of voice showed she wasn't really upset about it.

"Soooo, what do you think?" Amy asked Lloyd after the silence had stretched.

"Well… If… if that's alright, then" he rubbed his head sheepishly.

Elsa yawned. "In return for the room you can keep that up and call me master,"

Lloyd couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.

"Elsa, you aren't allowed to make jokes anymore," Amy sighed and pushed her towards the spare room.

The girls set up the blankets and bedding for Lloyd, Elsa condescendingly introduced him to the light switch, fridge and heating system, all of which Lloyd did actually have back home, then they bade him goodnight. Amy hung around a little longer than the other two but after receiving no further comments from Lloyd decided to call it a night as well.

He was just about to get into bed when Reimi re-appeared at the open doorway.

"I thought you might need some pajamas," he looked down and saw she had a bundle in her hands.

"They aren't bright pink or anything are they," Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"No… More of a… lightish red colour," she smirked then handed them over. They were dark blue and smelled faintly of lemon.

"Beats sleeping on the bench then?"

He looked up from the pajamas. "Ah I dunno… that bench was nice, a real home away from home but… in the meantime I guess this will do,"

Reimi laughed in response. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot, I put your swords in here too," she gestured to the spot she had left them, leaning against the bed.

"Oh…," he placed the pajamas down and wandered over to where his swords were, stroking his fingers along the length, testing the sharpness. "I don't know what happened… I guess it really is the complete lack of mana in this world, huh…,"

"But if it hadn't you would have been arrested today, Lloyd," she said, trying to put a positive spin on things.

"Also if you open the curtains a little bit…" she walked towards them and pulled the drawstring; there was another good view of the road.

"Wow… that's perfect,"

Reimi nodded in response.

"Wake me up if you need something okay? My room's the one nearest the kitchen," she started back towards the door.

"…Reimi?"

She turned.

"You're a very kind person,"

She looked away, pink spreading across her cheeks.

"N-no. I'm not, it's what anyone would do,"

"Well if that's true, this must be the greatest place in the universe, although I highly doubt that from what I've seen so far,"

"It's not bad, just busy," she stopped at the door. "Well, see you in the morning, since it's Saturday I don't have to work. You can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the window; we can make a day of it,"

"Sounds fun!" He waved his hands in a mock excited way then lowered them and said more softly "Goodnight,"


	3. Vidja Games

**Author's Notes: **I stupidly forgot to mention a couple of important points before starting the story. In my fic, ToS is not a game, the events were real and happened in a separate dimension. Also it's set in London, England! I think that's it. Sorry for confusion (have updated chapter 1 accordingly).Thanks lazycat66, you should go with your ideas! Then send me them so I can fangirl over them :D and RBL you rock! Thank you both for following :)

The weekend was a blur. By the end he felt a little more relaxed about the world he was in but became more and more anxious about his own. Where were his friends? Why wasn't the portal opening again? Did they even know he was gone or was this some type of dream he couldn't escape from? Was any of it actually real?

Reimi tried to keep his mind off things; despite spending the entire time indoors there was so much to do. Although he spent a lot of the time watching the road or briefly going for walks around the area, he also watched some 'tee vee', tried some strange new foods and played a weird board game about going to a party, which turned out to be surprisingly fun. Elsa was only around in the evenings as she worked weekends but Amy and Reimi were with him most of the time.

Reimi was also very patient and explained things to Lloyd without being patronizing. She at least seemed to believe he wasn't feigning confusion although he knew she didn't believe him entirely. The other two weren't as understanding but they did still try and keep his mind off things. Amy appointed herself as entertainment manager and diverted him with television shows while Elsa brought some of her brother's slightly too-baggy clothes for Lloyd to change into so he could go outside without drawing attention and fit in.

They were good people, Lloyd thought to himself, even if they didn't quite see eye-to-eye.

He was altogether too anxious on his current predicament to really pay much attention to anything those first few days though. He took greatest comfort in watching the road and, much to Amy's displeasure, showed no real interest in traveling to view more of their world or to stay focused on a show once the initial excitement had gone.

He acknowledged the fact that he might have been more involved if he hadn't been through something similar in Tethe'alla and was therefore able to take things at face-value. Life here was not so very different from his world, though there were a lot more luxuries and a wider variety of jobs. The people were not unfriendly though they did seem suspicious of his look and accent which he remembered Amy describe as 'American'. After watching a few TV shows and asking Reimi he discovered what the term meant. Again he took relief in the similarity to his own world. Different countries had different languages and dialect. Briefly contemplating traveling somewhere his accent would fit in he brushed the thought aside and decided it was best to stick close to the portal where he first entered Earth.

When Monday rolled around, Elsa and Reimi had to go to work. Amy had the day off from college and after trying and failing to do her work during the morning, gave into procrastination and spent time with Lloyd. The two of them watched some soaps together but, when she saw that Lloyd was growing bored, suggested they play a 'videogame'.

"Game? Like hide and seek?" Lloyd asked. Amy laughed.

"Not really. I'll show you," she fished out their Gamecube from inside a cabinet by the TV as well as a couple of controllers. "I'm not so good at these things myself but most men seem to like them so I'm betting you will too,"

Lloyd looked on curiously. When the console was set up, Amy pushed a round button on top of the purple machine and an animated intro began to play.

"What's this… Uh… oh yeah Sonic 2," Amy squinted, trying to read the writing. "Crap, hang on let me get my glasses," she raced back into her room and returned with them on. "Playing games without them makes my eyes hurt," she explained awkwardly and didn't meet Lloyd's eye.

"They look good on you,"

"No they don't," Amy sighed, adjusting them on her face. "I look so geeky with these on,"

"You look like a businesswoman,"

"…Really?" Amy turned to him.

"Yeah," Lloyd smiled. "Very sophisticated,"

"Well… tell my ex-boyfriend that," she began to unwind the controller wires.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "He would always say I looked super geeky with them on and wouldn't want to kiss me or hold me if I was wearing them. Said it made me look unattractive,"

"Well he's obviously wrong," Lloyd snorted, annoyed at the thought of someone so shallow.

Amy paused in her movement and slowly turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Of course. You shouldn't be with a guy like that anyway, be with someone who likes you for you and not for your looks,"

Amy just stared at him. Lloyd started guiltily, misreading her stunned silence for anger. "Sorry, it's not right for me to insult someone I don't even know,"

"No it's… fine. Thanks Lloyd," she blushed, about to say something more when-

"Woah! What is that?!" Lloyd exclaimed as a robust man in an egg appeared onscreen and began laughing.

"O-oh, that's Robotnik. We have to defeat him," she said, gripping the controller.

"We do? Wow, he looks evil," Lloyd laughed.

Amy handed one to Lloyd. "Ready to try? I'll explain the controls…"

A few hours later Reimi returned home from work.

"I'm home," she called out as the door closed behind her. Hearing no response except for muttering and electric noises, she took off her coat and bag and made her way into the front room.

Amy and Lloyd were glued to the television playing a videogame. Lloyd was desperately mashing buttons while Amy's character continuously jumped up and down.

"Sonic!" Reimi said, cheerfully rushing over and sitting down cross-legged to watch.

"Hey, welcome back," Amy said, teeth gritted in annoyance. "Come.. on.. jump, you fool!"

Reimi smiled. "How are you finding the game, Lloyd?"

"uhhhhh yeah, good… good good good good…" he half turned towards her but kept his eyes on the screen. Reimi noticed they were in a boss fight and so didn't say anymore until the 'Game Over' screen appeared moments later.

"Not again," Lloyd's head fell forwards in defeat.

"I just can't work these things properly," Amy complained, placing the controller down and relaxing back against the sofa behind her.

"Can I play?" Reimi asked.

"Sure," Amy stood up and headed for her bedroom. "I should get back to work now anyway, have to write an essay by tomorrow... And thanks again, Lloyd,"

"For what?" he looked up, surprised.

"Hah, nevermind,"

"Good luck," Reimi gave a thumbs up which Amy returned by playfully sticking her tongue out then closing the door behind her.

"You still want to play?" Reimi asked Lloyd.

"Yeah but… this level is impossible. And Tails is a bit rubbish," Lloyd grimaced at the memory.

"Are you joking? He's the best character! He can't die so you literally get him to do everything for you!" Reimi countered.

"What?! That can't be right," Lloyd frowned at his controller.

"Try being Sonic for awhile," Reimi held the controller she had gotten from Amy out to Lloyd and exchanged it for the one he had been holding.

They played through the beginning of the game again.

"Wow Reimi… You're really good at this," Lloyd said, impressed after they quickly cleared the first level.

"I have played this game _way_ too much," she chuckled, destroying an enemy that had been about to attack Lloyd.

In no time at all they were back to the boss they had previously been stuck on.

"This is where Tails really shines," she smiled. About a minute (and several Tails deaths later) the boss was defeated.

"Oh my god, you did it…" he said in awe.

"_We_ did it," Reimi corrected, beaming.

"Want to do another level?"

"Yeah!" She eagerly replied.

When Elsa returned back from work shortly after she found the two of them in an animated discussion, still playing Sonic.

"Why are the animals inside the robots?" Lloyd asked as his character emaciated one.

"They were robotosized and made into minions.. But sometimes he uses flowers instead,"

"…Flowers?"

"Yeah… so evil flowers…," Reimi let out an evil laugh and then, amused, Lloyd joined in.

Elsa cleared her throat, addressing the room.

Both Reimi and Lloyd froze mid-laugh.

"Sorry to cut in on you guys, but I was hoping to use the TV soon, there's a show about to come on that I want to watch,"

"Oh sorry Elsa," Reimi apologized, pausing and saving the game. "I didn't even hear you come home, plus it's my turn to make dinner…"

"I'll help," Lloyd chipped in.

"Thanks," Reimi turned off the console and set the aerial back to normal TV.

"Can we… play again later?" Lloyd suggested cautiously as the two of them got up and went into the kitchen.

"Of course we can!" Reimi beamed.

"Great. So anyway, how was work?"

Elsa smiled and sat down to watch her show.

**A/N - btw the board game they play in this chapter is the Polly Pocket game 'Let's Party' and I used to play when I was little hehehe**


	4. Missing Pets

**Author's Notes: **I'm not sure how long the fic is going to be at this point… It's just a lot of disconnected ideas in my mind but I'm going to try and update this story at least once a week, job-wiling! Also, a reference of Reimi if you wanted to know what she looked like there are pictures on my deviantART :)

After that, Lloyd managed to pass his time more productively. Elsa took his swords to work with her as a bargaining chip to stop him running out and robbing them, much to the protest of Reimi and Amy although Lloyd understood their situation and agreed. Plus Reimi showed him how to set up the games console for when they were out and he was so engrossed in the different games that it helped keep his mind occupied as he waited.

However when Friday rolled around and it had been a week since he had come to stay, Lloyd's spirits were significantly lower. He didn't think he would be stuck on Earth for so long and became increasingly ill at ease and frightened for his future.

Neglecting the console he spent most of the day sat on the sofa facing the window, watching the road for hours on end, head in his hands, willing the portal to open again.

When Amy and Reimi returned they both tried to cheer him up.

"It's okay Lloyd, there's no rush, you can stay with us as long as you need to," Amy rubbed circles into his back, trying to offer some comfort.

"Yeah and I'm sure that if you found your way here, your friends will too…" Reimi pitched in.

"I don't know," Lloyd said quietly. "I did think that… But, now… I don't know…"

"I'll get you a drink," Amy patted his back in a decisive way. "Nothing like a cup of tea at times like this," she picked up the cup he had recently used from the floor and left.

Reimi sat down next to Lloyd.

"It'll be okay, Lloyd," she said, tilting her head sideways to catch a glimpse of his face hidden behind his hands.

"Yeah…," Reimi frowned, she'd never heard him so dejected.

Turning her attention to the scene outside the window, there was silence for a moment before she broke it with "I have an idea!"

"W-what? Lloyd jumped up, startled by her unexpected enthusiasm.

Without a word, she rushed into her room and returned a moment later with a small, cube-shaped case. Undoing the Velcro binding, she pulled out a shiny red device covered in buttons and screens and with one large eye on its dominant side.

Lloyd stared.

"What's that?"

"It's a camera; you use it to capture a moment in time so you can look back on it later," Reimi explained.

"It's like a time machine?" Lloyd queried.

"Haha, well kind of, but you can only look at that one moment through a picture. You don't actually go back in time. Here," she grinned and held the device up to her face, pointing the eye at Lloyd. He watched warily as it seemed to focus in on him, then blink with a satisfying click.

Reimi lowered the device and turned it round so that Lloyd had a clear view of the back. There, somehow recorded on the screen, was his own face looking back at him.

"Woah!"

"I was thinking… Have you seen those posters around for missing pets? We could make our own one for you and pin it on a telephone pole near the road so that if your friends arrive and we don't see them, they might see you,"

"So I'm a pet now?" he remarked, humour evident in his tone.

Reimi smirked. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we can both be pets," she then took a photo of herself, tongue sticking out and eyes slightly crossed.

Lloyd laughed as he saw it. "What was that?! What animal are you supposed to be?"

Reimi frowned as she looked at the picture. "Um… A sick dog I guess," Then she caught Lloyd's eye and they both burst into laughter.

"No…," Lloyd gasped breathlessly, "I want to take another one! Your picture is too good! It will get all the attention and no one will even see mine!"

Amy came in. "What are you guys up to in here?" Then she saw the scene and her vain side kicked in "We're taking photos? ... I want to take some too!"

The three of them fought over, posed and took photos with the camera until the battery and, subsequently Lloyd's interest in the camera, died.

Reimi promised to print out one of the sensible pictures so they could put it on a poster.

"Are you sure that's a good idea though, Reimi?" Elsa asked later that evening when Reimi had filled her in. "If you put our address on there, we might get prank calls or unwanted attention,"

"It's okay. I'll put an advertisement for something really vague on it so no one will take any notice. Something like he's selling a vintage earplug or will mow front lawns for £50. I doubt anyone except those who know him will even give it a second glance. Besides, his friends and family must be worried about him. It's been a week. In fact…" a thought suddenly struck her, "I should go look up a missing person's list right now just in case he's on there! Why didn't I think of it before…" she retreated back into her bedroom and didn't come out until she had both printed off her recently created advertisement for Lloyd and scoured several missing person's lists online (to no success).

Whilst Reimi was busy making flyers, Amy rejoined Lloyd on the sofa.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks to you two," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry to worry you both and I'm also sorry if I'm outstaying my welcome,"

"Nah, it's all good. We need a bit more excitement round here anyway,"

He gave a little nod in response. Amy decided to change the subject to something lighter.

"So, these friends of yours. What are they like?"

"Well…" Lloyd struggled with how to begin, thrown by the question. "They're the people most special to me. They worked with me to re-unite the worlds and stood beside me in battle. They're very strong and when we work as a group we're unbeatable," the pride in his voice shone through and made Amy smile.

"I see. And… is there… anyone particularly special to you among them?" she asked as casually as she could.

"Particularly special?" he echoed, unsure.

"Yeah you know… like a girlfriend… Or a boyfriend," she said, hands held up guardedly.

Lloyd blushed red, "O-oh. No, nothing like that, but I don't want to label any of them as being more special than anyone else. They're all important to me,"

"I see," Amy said, hiding a little smile behind her hand. "Well, I'm sure they're all really missing you, although I'm really glad we met too,"

"Y-yeah, same, you've all been so nice," Lloyd said, feeling somewhat awkward.

Amy just grinned.

"Want to… want to play a game?" he eventually said, wanting to break the tension he felt in the air.

"Sure," Amy replied and fired up the console, still grinning like an idiot.

* * *

"Guys, I think I like Lloyd," Amy squealed excitedly later that night when Lloyd had gone to bed and the others were in the living room.

"…What?" Elsa asked. Reimi's mouth opened slightly in shock.

"But… You've only just met him, Amy," she said slowly, trying to process the thought.

"Yeah I know but… I've known guys for a shorter amounts of time and liked them and Lloyd is a really sweet guy,"

"Need I remind you that all the guys you liked for shorter amounts of time were jerks," Elsa remarked.

Reimi frowned. "Lloyd's not like those guys Elsa,"

"Right," Amy agreed. "You just need to spent more time with him to see that. How about tomorrow we take him out to London and go clothes shopping!"

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. He's never been to London before; it's so crowded there and what would we do if he got lost? He doesn't have a phone we can contact him on," Reimi wasn't sure why but the attraction worried her. Wasn't it just too soon for that?

"Oh, it's fine! We'll all be with him! And we can get him some new clothes and show him a little more of England. He might even want to keep staying with us, you never know! Ohhh you guys have to help me!"

Elsa crossed her arms wearily and sighed. Reimi felt a lump form in her throat and tried to swallow it down.

"Look, Amy do we really even know this guy? He clearly has some mental trauma and thinks he lives in another world with elves and dwarves. Heck, he thinks he's the _savior_ of that world. Alarm bells ringing here for anyone else?"

"Whatever. I'm sure we can help him get over that," Amy shrugged.

"And also, this isn't a permanent arrangement. You're both treating him like some long-lost cousin come to stay when in reality he's a complete stranger! And now you want to buy him clothes too? Come on… He could be taking us for a ride and a half here!"

Reimi bit her lip but couldn't think of a response. She didn't know why she felt she could trust Lloyd, she just did. But she couldn't very well say that out loud, even to her it didn't make sense.

"I hear you Elsie but I'm not a little girl. I can make my own decisions," Amy pouted. "I'm not saying you have to pay or anything, just spend some more time with him and you'll see. He's not a bad guy,"

Elsa shook her head. "I'm not going to be responsible for what happens. I won't kick him out on the street or anything but I'm really not happy with this situation,"

"The posters should help," Reimi said quietly, holding one of her flyers up. "Someone might come forward with information about him, for better or worse. Then we'll know for sure,"

Amy added "Pleasseee," with puppy dog eyes and Elsa growled in response.

"On your head this be," she waltzed out, hitting the hay for the night.

"Yay!" Amy giggled. "Okay, tomorrow it is. See you in the morning, Reimi, let's work hard!"

Reimi just nodded feebly and watched Amy dance around the kitchen before meandering happily into her room.

"Yeah," she slumped down onto the couch, feeling as though all the air had been knocked out of her. "Okay then…"


	5. Field Trip to London

**A/N** – Thanks to everyone who's stuck by me thus far :) I still consider this to be the 'beginning' of the story, but I think one or two more chapters and we can start getting right to the heart of things. Reviews are always welcome and help me update faster!

After Reimi had pinned her Lloyd posters around their block, the four of them left the flat and walked the ten minutes up the hill to the train station.

Lloyd was a little edgy about leaving the portal area but the posters made him feel more assured and besides he was bored of being cooped up in the flat.

Amy immediately took the place by his side both walking to the station and on the train; laughing at his enthusiasm to everything new and reddening as their knees brushed together sitting on the crampt seats of the train. Reimi tried to ignore this and sat with Elsa opposite, pointing out the different London landmarks to Lloyd whilst the train journeyed passed bustling central stations. Elsa had her arms folded and simply stared out the window at the beginning of the journey but Reimi gratefully noticed her begin to lighten up as they reached the capital, and knew it was because it was the place she had lived during her childhood.

As the got off the train and deposited their tickets into the barrier ("cool!" declared Lloyd) they began working their way through the vast hubbub of people.

Amy grabbed Lloyd by the arm and pulled him first in one direction then the other as they went from shop to shop in search of ideal clothes. Reimi and Elsa followed behind until eventually Amy came across one she was happy with.

Lloyd sat down on one of the stools tiredly as Amy started pulling out some shirt and trouser combos for him to try on.

"How much longer will this take?" Lloyd asked exhaustedly.

"She's just getting started," Elsa groaned, placing both hands on her hips as she watched her housemate stagger under a small mountain of clothes.

Reimi gave Lloyd a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, she'll wear herself out before too long, hang in there,"

Just then Amy returned, having piled all the clothes into a basket. "Ready to try some outfits on, Lloyd?"

"Uh… o-okay then?" he said, slightly fazed by her enthusiasm.

Amy started by picking up clothes and holding them against Lloyd to see which colours suited him best. After a couple of minutes of this, Reimi and Elsa started to yawn and began talking to themselves.

"So… I noticed they opened a new Gamestation nearby," Reimi said to Elsa. "Think we can visit it later?"

"Oh!" Amy overheard and responded before Elsa could open her mouth, "Well if you guys like, why not browse there for awhile - I can help Lloyd by myself," and although warm, the tone of voice Amy used indicated to Reimi and Elsa that they should go to give her some alone time with Lloyd.

"… alright," Reimi's voice went quiet.

"I want to com-" Lloyd began but Amy cut across him.

"Alright so meet back again in half an hour? See you guys later," Amy waved and dragged Lloyd further into the store towards the changing rooms.

Elsa muttered "Very subtle Amy," then walked out with Reimi. "Come on Rem, let's go check out this game shop then,"

Twenty minutes later Reimi had just left the shop with her new purchase and decided to kill some time with Elsa in another store when her phone rang.

The number flashing on the screen read Amy. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, she showed Elsa who shrugged then hit 'answer'.

"Hey is Lloyd there with you?"

"No... why?"

"He's gone!"

"WHAT!?"

"One minute he was next to me, then I went to try something on in the changing room and when I came out he was gone!"

"Oh no… Hang on, we'll be right there,"

Reimi hung up and started walking back, updating Elsa at the same time. After meeting with a panic-stricken Amy, they searched around the entrance and inside of the shop for Lloyd but to no avail.

"He can't have gone far," Elsa said comfortingly. "Let's split up and search for him nearby,"

'I knew this would happen,' Reimi thought unhappily but realized there were more important things to be getting on with then having arguments, so she remained silent as they split up and checked the neighboring shops one at a time. After several shops proved Lloyd-less, Reimi reached the Trocadero arcade complex. The entrance alone was crammed full of kids and teenagers out enjoying their weekend.

After hesitating that Lloyd would be here for a moment, she sidled past a big group standing in the way of the entrance and began searching inside.

There were people everywhere she looked. Reimi cursed to herself as she realized how serious the situation was. An image of him in the road flashed through her minds eye and she had a sudden urge to leave and check that he wasn't wandering around in the road again. However as she passed a group of girls near the DDR machines she caught sight of him. His back was turned to her but she was pretty sure…

"Lloyd!" she called out, but he didn't turn around. There was too much noise for him to hear her clearly. Instead she pushed past a group of tourists, determined not to lose sight of him and desperately reached for his hand to gain his attention.

"Reimi!" he spun around relieved when he found out who had grabbed him.

"Outside!" she mouthed and the two of them worked their way back to the high street.

When they back on the main street and could hear each other again she turned to him heatedly. "Lloyd, why did you run off? We were so worried about you!"

"Amy said she was done and I wanted to go and see the game shop with you," he answered guiltily, "I thought this was it so I went in. I'm sorry,"

Reimi flushed but shook her head. "Just say next time, we can't contact you if you get lost… I was really scared,"

Lloyd looked downwards. "Sorry,"

Reimi exhaled in relief, then realized they were still holding hands. She hurriedly let go, avoiding his eyes and bent over her phone to hide the color still on her cheeks. "I better tell Amy not to worry anymore,"

Punching one of the speed dials on her phone, Reimi arranged to rejoin Amy and Elsa outside the Troc.

"What's in the bag?" Lloyd asked curiously when the call ended.

"Oh… It's a new game that's just come out that I thought we could play. It's up to four players so we can all try it together," she handed it to him to read the back synopsis.

"Hmmm… Looks good," he nodded with approval, then "Wah!" Amy crashed into him.

"WHERE. WERE. YOU!?" she punctuated every word with a fist to the back.

"Oww! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lloyd said, throwing his hands over his head.

Amy was about to spit something back but thought better of it and folded her arms, multiple shopping bags swaying in unison disagreement.

"You really should be more grateful Lloyd, that's at least a day's wages worth of clothes," Elsa sighed, already bored of the drama.

"But I am grateful," Lloyd glanced at Elsa then Amy. "And I really am sorry but it was taking so long and I thought since I'll be going home soon there's no need to buy a whole bunch. We can take some back?"

Amy ignored Lloyd. "I hate London sometimes, it's way too crowded. Let's go home,"

Lloyd continued to apologize profusely but Amy was short with him most of the way home until she became bored and started talking about their purchases.

Even then, once they were back, Reimi decided against suggesting starting their new game in case it brought up renewed conflict. Instead she watched as Amy forced Lloyd into different variations of the outfits she had bought that day, feeling oddly detached for reasons she couldn't quite pinpoint.


	6. Where do you Work? Part 1

**A/N **– Thanks again for the reviews. Really REALLY thank you cause they help me so much! And thanks for pointing out typos and grammar stuff RBL and Mapo, after this chapter I'll monitor my sentences a bit more to stop myself making silly mistakes (I wrote this a few days ago so it's probs no better… OTL). The next chapter might be a little while but I'll get it up within the week if I can.

"Reimi, where do you work?" Lloyd asked a couple of days later as Reimi returned from said place in the late afternoon.

"Would you know it if I told you?" she joked, closing the door and taking off her coat.

"Near or far then?"

"Er…" she stuttered, slightly stumped by the oddness of the question. "About an hour or so into London by train? On a good day," she took a seat opposite him on the sofa. "Why?"

"Just curious. You come home nearly as late as Elsa but you leave way before her so I wondered,"

She smiled and hugged her knees. "Yeah, it'd be nice to have a lie-in, but I really need this job so it's worth it,"

"Is it a fun job?"

"Fun… Ha, no," she shook her head. "I just run around after people all day, making sure they have what they need to do their jobs. Pretty much anyway, it's a very trying job,"

"So why do it?" He rested his chin on his hand and seemed to concentrate a bit more.

She fidgeted and turned away from his gaze. "Because it's my dream to be a pianist. To get into the industry you first need the financial income to get started and to pay for things like your instrument, lessons and basic recording equipment. Since I don't have that I thought I could work my way up by at least being in the same building that can make my dreams come true. Also I can use their piano after work if a room is free."

"Can't your parents help you out?"

Lloyd had never asked about the girls' parents before but realized as the words left his lips that it was a painful subject for Reimi as her expression became sad.

"O-oh… Well, I'm afraid they… they aren't here," her voice faded towards the end.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say. He wished he could say something to make her feel better but anything except an apology would either be rude or inconsiderate.

"That's alright," she smiled weakly then stood up. "I'm going to go take a shower, it's been a long day,"

"…Okay," An awkward silence fell as she passed him and Lloyd sighed and turned back to the window, looking through it, his mind deep in thought.

* * *

The next day he decided to leave the flat. He had stayed up til quite late the previous night thinking and had finally come to a conclusion.

The past couple of weeks had been turbulent but as he saw more of life on Earth he became increasingly grateful towards the girls, particularly Reimi since she had initiated the whole scenario. She made him feel safe, although perhaps that was a childish way of putting it. Amy was very friendly too but he was a little scared of her and after hearing Reimi's story last night, he wanted to try and repay her some of the kindness she had shown him. If he couldn't get home he could at least help her out.

He left a note for Amy, who was still in bed, which said he was going out for some fresh air. He also took the ten pound note Reimi had given him for 'emergencies' when he started going for walks on his own.

Waiting for the 'click' of the door that signified Reimi leaving, he slipped out of his room and hurriedly followed her route from the flat to the train station.

After arriving and eventually managing to buy a ticket to London from a machine outside the station, he ran onto the platform just as the train was pulling in. Glancing cautiously round he could see Reimi amidst a throng of people boarding a couple of carriages down. He darted into the nearest one and stood by the door so he would had a decent view of the platforms they were passing since he didn't know which stop she would get off at.

Half an hour passed in this way before he spied her familiar figure walk off the train down the platform in the direction opposite him. Keeping back as far as he could he worked his way through the mass of people, through the barrier and finally out into the station.

To say it was overcrowded was an understatement. It seemed like all the people for miles around had gathered in this one gigantic station, and all of them wanted different exits or shops, not seeming to care who they pushed past to get there. Lloyd fought his way to where he could just about see Reimi headed and eventually escaped the claustrophobic station onto an only slightly less busy main street.

There were a lot more people here then he remembered from last time and he worriedly fixed his eyes on Reimi and concentrated on not getting pulled away by the crowd.

Ten minutes and a few side streets later, he saw Reimi fish around in her bag and head toward a high-walled building, briefly pressing whatever she removed from her bag to the wall so the door swung open. Once she was inside Lloyd casually walked past and looked in.

A security guard sat at the desk adjacent to a row of lifts and a stairway crawled upwards behind him. A line of vertical buttons next to the glass door outside were labeled with different company names. He saw Reimi retreating up those stairs but didn't know which floor she was heading to.

He stepped back when he realized he had alerted the guards' attention and walked faster until he was out of sight.

Stopping, he then leant his back against the way and sighed. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to do following Reimi all the way out here, maybe just see if there was an opportunity to help or asses her situation further, but now he was stuck. Things got worse as he looked back in the direction he had come and realized that he couldn't remember if they had walked down the long street or come down a side-road. It had been so packed and he was so focused on keeping sight of Reimi that he hadn't taken notice.

With a sinking feeling he knew he would have to wait for Reimi to find his way back or risk getting lost, as humiliating as that might be. He wished he had paid more attention… How would he explain to her what had happened? And he didn't have one of those phone thingies to call Amy…

One thing was for sure though; he couldn't stand outside her office all day long. Looking briefly around he saw a coffee shop on the opposite side of the street a few buildings down and started in that direction.

A wave of warmth rushed over him as he opened the door and he was surprised to find the place almost empty. Glancing round he found a seat facing the window and claimed it. There was a newspaper on the counter nearby and he picked it up to kill a little time reading. Eventually he was approached by one of the baristas.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Lloyd looked up, surprised. "Er… no, I'm okay thank you," before turning back to the paper.

"I'm afraid our seats are reserved for customers only. You'll need to buy a drink. Would you like me to get you a menu?" the waiter asked as polite as possible.

"Oh… er…" Lloyd unconsciously patted his trouser pocked and realized he still had a little change from the ticket. "Can I get a regular coffee please?"

"Coming right up," the waiter said, seemingly relieved he wouldn't have to forcibly remove anyone from the premises.

The next few hours were painfully slow. Lloyd didn't want to wander too far from the coffee shop and consequently Reimi's work for fear of getting lost again so he was stuck where he was, sipping his now-cold coffee so he could stay as long as possible.

He was beginning to think that he would be there forever when he realized the high street was starting to get busy again as people left for lunch and, sure enough, a few minutes later, a familiar figure came out of the building he had been watching.

"Ah..!" he stood up then paused as he realized he had no idea what to do although at that moment she turned and entered the coffee shop.

Her eyes traveled swiftly around the room then abruptly stopped on him. Her mouth was slightly agape and a light frown settled over her face, her hand still holding the door.

"…Lloyd?" she spoke uncertainly.

"Hi, Reimi," he smiled awkwardly.

She was speechless for a moment before a voice sounded behind her.

"Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going in?!" A bossy older woman said and Reimi immediately stepped aside to let her through.

"Sorry," she whispered apologetically, then joined Lloyd inside. "What-"

"I wanted to see where you worked," he answered quickly, everything coming out in a rush. "I know I should have asked you first but I was really curious and I thought you would say no and then I couldn't remember the way back and-"

"W-woah hang on…" she cut in, still trying to make sense of things, "Lloyd, have you been here all day?"

"Erm… Well yeah," he answered sheepishly.

Reimi blushed deeply. "You… You've been here for _five hours_?" she managed to gasp out.

Lloyd nodded.

"You… What- No… hang on, let me just get something to eat first and I'll join you, I'm starving"

She hesitantly turned towards the counter as Lloyd moved back to his seat. He pushed the paper and his old coffee cup aside to make enough room for the two of them.

A few minutes later Reimi brought over a tray, on which was a couple of paninis and two drinks. She placed one in front of Lloyd alongside a panini.

"You must be hungry,"

"Yeah, I am," he said cautiously before taking a sip of the drink. He smiled. It was hot chocolate. "Thanks,"

"Don't mention it. Er… Does Amy know you're gone?" she asked carefully.

"I left her a note," he replied, still a bit unsure of how Reimi was taking his visit. She was looking down at her food and not at him. "Are you angry with me?"

"What? No," she said, quickly glancing up at him, a bit red in the face. "Just worried, it's nice to see a friendly face during work,"

He countered this with a grin then took a few bites out of his panini. It was good, he mused to himself.

"So… Why did you want to see where I work?" she began again casually, once again not making eye contact.

"Cause It's much more exciting here than it is at home. I was getting bored,"

She gave a weak smile. "Oh. Well it's not a very interesting place to be honest,"

He listened to her talk about work for awhile before she was interrupted by a call on her cell phone. She immediately switched to business-mode as she picked up, answering in short replies with assent, before hanging up.

"They need me back early…" she rubbed her head agitatedly. "An important client's come in. Lloyd I'm really sorry but I have to go," she started packing her things away. "If you ask the staff here, I'm sure they can point you in the direction of the station, here's some money for a ticket," she pressed a five pound note into his palm then stood up to leave. "Will you be okay?"

"Yes," he rolled his eyes. "I'm not a child, go on back to work,"

"Okay, she said resignedly. "Get home safe," She then hurried to the door and left.

Lloyd finished off his drink and was just about to ask at the now-crowded counter for directions when-

"Excuse me, sir!"

Lloyd turned around. It was the barista from earlier.

"Huh? Me?" Lloyd turned to face the man and pointed to himself.

"Yes! I'm sorry to ask, but since I've seen you here all day and I… well… er… are you heading anywhere right now?"

"Well, actually…"

"Because if you're not in a hurry we could really use some help… We'll pay you for your time,"

Lloyd was about to decline again when he remembered the reason he had come to London.

"What do you need me to do?"


	7. Where do you Work? Part 2

**A/N **– Haha you guys guessed it already XD Lloyd the coffee boy! Also I worked out how to do paragraph breaks on here… 2 years late. Thanks lazycat, I don't want to spoil too much but I will mention that the other ToS characters and game story will come up from time to time. Like you said, right now I think Lloyd knows they don't believe him so he's hesitant to bring them up. Hope you'll keep reading :)

Several hours later Reimi left her work building, tired from another day's running, and turned on her phone to find there was a text from Amy. She casually opened it, expecting it to be about Lloyd's return but instead Amy had sent her a text asking for his whereabouts.

She stopped dead in the street trying not to panic. Then, hoping against hope, she quickly rushed back to the Starbucks they had met at for lunch and sighed in relief as she saw Lloyd through the window. It was a short-lived relief as what she saw greatly confused her.

He was still inside, but now he had a barista outfit on.

She walked in and strode up to him.

"Lloyd?"

"Reimi! One sec," he took the drinks he'd been carrying back to the counter then returned to her.

"What are you doing?! I thought you went home hours ago!"

"I was going to but then they offered to pay me for working, so I said 'okay' and then they gave me something called a contract,"

"What? A contract? Lloyd…"

"Heyyy! New guy, you can take off now! See you tomorrow!" one of the other baristas shouted at him.

"Thanks!" He called back, taking off his apron. "Hang on," He ran to put it in the storage cupboard then joined Reimi again.

"Lloyd… Did you get a job here?" She queried worriedly as they both headed out of the shop.

"Yeah. I thought I could pay you guys for having me," He grinned.

Reimi frowned. "But… But… What about going home?"

"Well of course I want to go home but in the mean time I want to make myself useful. I really owe you one. Besides waiting around in the flat all day is so boring!"

Reimi was once again interrupted by a call on her cell-phone and realized Amy was still waiting for a response.

"He's here, don't worry…"

* * *

"Okay, we need to attach a freaking bell to you or something…" Amy grumbled, her head lolling back against the sofa as they went over the days' events for what seemed like the hundredth time.

It was several hours later and the four flatmates were sat around the coffee table; Amy and Elsa on the couch, Lloyd on an opposite chair and Reimi adjacent in the armchair.

After initially yelling at him (both down the phone and then in person once they arrived back at the flat) Amy had finally begun to calm down, mostly thanks to Elsa. She was not at all happy at having woken up to find him gone, even less so when she later realized he was with Reimi.

"I would have gone out with you, Lloyd. I had the day off, remember?" she moaned.

"To catch up with your homework," Elsa broke in, flicking through the daily newspaper Reimi had left on the coffee table before the discussion began.

"Elsie!" Amy threw her a look then turned back to Lloyd. "And now you're going to go there every day? Are you sure you know what that involves? Early starts, late finishes, barely any breaks…"

"I know, I'm actually kind of excited," Lloyd grinned, "Having a job to do makes me feel needed and calmer. I really want to do this, please let me pay you back," he bowed his head.

Elsa laughed and Reimi gave a small smile but Amy continued to pout.

"Well, I think it's a really good idea," Elsa affirmed. "Lloyd can contribute to food and rent, save up some money and if he _is_ here for a long time, eventually buy a place of his own. It's a win/win. Just don't let the landlord find out,"

"So… I can still stay?" he questioned hopefully.

"Not forever,"

"Obviously. I'll be going home soon," Lloyd waved it off. "But what happens if the landlord finds out?"

"We all get the boot," Elsa intoned. "Now, who's for spaghetti?" And she flopped the newspaper back down, stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"Well done on your job, Lloyd," Reimi chimed in softly, before getting up to help Elsa.

"Ah-" Lloyd called to Reimi's retreating back but was cut off by Amy hitting him in the side of his face with the newspaper.

"You are so annoying!"

Lloyd laughed which seemed to soften Amy.

"Wait here, okay, I'll be back in one sec," she headed off to her room.

While he waited, Lloyd glanced out the window and realized he had been doing less and less recently. Now that the posters had gone up, he felt more relaxed about the situation although it was still high on his list of worries. He still didn't doubt he could get back home but, still being a relative stranger to this world, wasn't sure if there was anything he could do from this side.

Amy interrupted his thoughts by returning, hiding something behind her back.

"Since you're kinda one of us now, you should have this," she said, uncharacteristically shy, holding out what she had been concealing.

Lloyd recognized it as a cell phone. It was white and sleek with a lot of charms attached. He looked up confused.

"For me?"

Amy nodded. "It's just my old one, it's got a big crack down the middle but it still works fine. You just need to get a new SIM card then it'll be ready for you to use. When you get a SIM card you can put peoples numbers in and store photos and stuff but for now it's just for emergencies,"

"Wow, thanks," he said, gently picking it up. He held it up to one ear and listened for a moment. "Is it on?"

Amy laughed. "What are you doing! Give it here," she grabbed the phone back then held down the top button and the phone sprang to life.

"Now is it on?" he stood up to get a better look.

"Yes it's on geez! But wait til it warms up,"

The rest of the evening was spent in a more relaxed fashion, with Amy showing Lloyd how to work his new phone, and then all four of them watched 'Megamind' as it was on TV before heading to bed.

* * *

That night, Reimi heard a knock on her bedroom door. It was late, just after midnight. She wondered who it could be and cautiously swung her legs out of bed and headed to the door. When she opened it her younger housemate was standing there.

"Hey Amy-"

"Is there something going on between you and Lloyd?" she cut in, walking into the room and closing the door.

"What?"

"You know. First he runs off in London and you just happen to be the one to find him, then he gets a job coincidentally right next to yours. I'm not stupid, Reimi,"

"There's really nothing going on," she replied, taken aback at Amy's tone. "And besides, I would never steal someone you like, Amy, we're friends,"

Amy looked down. "Well, I really like Lloyd, Reimi. I guess I just wanted to make sure we were clear on that. Do you think he likes me, too?" her tone changed to her normal one with the last sentence, scaring Reimi slightly.

"Er… I… I don't really know," she gulped.

Amy turned back to the door. "Well, it's still early days. But, I just wanted to make sure… Goodnight, Reimi," and she closed the door without a second glance.

There was silence for a second before Amy's footsteps retreated and she returned to her room. Reimi slowly sank down and felt her eyes water. She hadn't done anything wrong. In fact she hadn't really done anything at all recently. She felt like a third wheel or maybe even a fourth wheel more and more, being held back in conversations or group activities out of loyalty to her friend. But even that didn't deter Amy's jealousy? It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair. Reimi choked back a sob.

Reimi hardly ever 'liked' people. And now...

Would it really be so bad if she were secretly happy that Lloyd had followed her to work, and that it had brightened her whole day just seeing him? Or that he had left Amy in London because he wanted to browse the game shop with her instead?

She felt pathetic. And like she was betraying Amy. She resolved to step up her defense and help Lloyd get home as quickly as possible. Then the problems would be out of the way.

Then she could go back to being… miserable.


	8. Contracts and Coffee

**A/N** - First off – SmotherFate helped me write this chapter! Most of it is mine but the coffee scene is her invention. She's an excellent writer and my very best friend, so all the love in the world to her. Secondly, in response to last chapter's reviews – I also went through the same love triangle experience, which is why I wrote the Amy/Reimi drama into the story. It really sucks being in that situation so I hope it won't put anyone off reading due to bad memories. If you keep going though I think you'll like the conclusion. Anyway enough talk – Chapter 8!

A few days later Lloyd was getting into the routine of going to work. His initial enthusiasm had long since worn off, but it really did seem to help having somewhere to go, something to do each day. Reimi was both relieved and disappointed to find out their start and break times didn't coincide, but they went home together and Reimi visited the Starbucks for lunch so she also saw him then, albeit briefly (and on the other side of a counter). When they were away from the flat she felt a lot happier and couldn't help opening up a bit more. Though, after her realization on the night Amy visited her, she had become cautious and avoided personal conversations.

Likewise, Lloyd began telling Reimi more about himself and the things he had done. Reimi thought it sounded like a great story but she still didn't believe him. She was sure there was a reason he was hiding his real past, but she felt she still didn't know him well enough to ask. She politely went along with it as Lloyd carried on talking and filling her in on the current situation of his 'world'.

"Wow… So you have an actual space dad?" Reimi laughed as they were walking home on the fourth day.

"It's not like he was _born_ in space," Lloyd sighed, "He's just… vacating the space in space right now? I don't know," he laughed.

She caught herself about to smile back and instead turned her head to look both ways on the road they were about to cross.

"Have you heard anything about the posters yet?" He continued.

"I'm afraid not," she replied, turning back to him. "But now that you have your own phone number maybe we'll make some new ones and put that on it, so you'll be in control,"

"Sounds good, thanks Reimi," he scruffed her hair, the way he had seen Elsa do so before, and Reimi buried her face into her scarf.

"Don't mention it," she uncomfortably searched her mind for something else to say. "So… Tell me more about your space dad, what's his job?"

"Er…"

* * *

"How was work today, Lloyd?" Amy asked when the two of them came home that night. Reimi headed to her room for some keyboard practice, leaving Lloyd in Amy's 'care'.

"Ah… Same old same old," he countered, spreading out in front of the TV.

"Lloyd, you got a sec?" Elsa voice rang out from the kitchen.

Lloyd and Amy both sighed, then Lloyd stood up and walked to the kitchen. Elsa was sitting there with a pen and paper, a serious expression on her face.

"W-what's all this?" he stammered, confused.

"Something you seem to be increasingly aware of these days – a contract,"

"Another one?" he groaned.

"Sit,"

Lloyd obediently sat opposite her. She pushed the contract towards him.

"Since you can't get one with the landlord, I've taken the liberty of making you a contract with us. It says here," she punctuated the words by tapping pen to paper, "On the first of every month, you are to pay us the lump sum of £200 for food, rent and living expenses,"

"£200!?" Lloyd exclaimed.

"What? That's pretty cheap if I do say so myself,"

"Is it normal for things to cost this much?! My train ticket alone is £150 a month, with this that's nearly half my paycheck gone!"

"Hmm.. I see you about as much experience with the housing market as you do with everything else," she dropped the pen in front of him. "Move out if you want, but this is the best deal you'll get around here,"

Lloyd bowed his head in defeat.

"Okay, okay fine," he was about to write his signature at the bottom when he caught a glimpse of a line, "Wait… what's this about ownership of the soul?"

Elsa laughed good-naturedly and slid the contract away. "Always read what you sign, Lloyd, little test for you there. Here's the real contract," she drew out an identical-looking scrap of paper.

Lloyd read it through this time and Elsa nodded approvingly. He signed it without further ado.

"Great," Elsa after folding and pocketing the contract, she strode out of the room. "Time for my show,"

"Ohhh, you always take the TV, Elsa!" Amy moaned from the next room.

* * *

After spending most of the evening trying to write a decent piece of music, and a following night of bad sleep, Reimi was relieved it was finally time for lunch.

"What do you think you're going to get?" she politely asked her colleague, Sara. Sara was also a runner, but only part-time and for extra money rather than musical aspirations. The two of them sometimes got lunch together but their relationship never went beyond co-workers.

"Probably a Latte," She replied, fishing through her purse, "What about you?"

"A Caramel Frappuccino." Reimi answered, gently smiling.

"Reimi!" Lloyd beamed as he noticed her next in the queue.

"Hi, Lloyd. Is work going okay?" She spoke happily while Sara put on a mildly curious expression. Reimi quickly mentioned they were housemates…kind of.

"It's going okay so far, though people here are weird and sometimes rude but not all…" He finished sheepishly.

"Yeah, those people are unavoidable but ignore them, they're just thoughtless." Reimi said, annoyed at the thought that someone could be rude to Lloyd when she only knew him to be cheerful and benevolent.

"Yeah, it's not that bad. I'm at least glad to get to see you every day." He smiled. Reimi thought she blacked out for a second as the sentence processed gradually through her mind and the heat rose to her cheeks.

"But Lloyd…we live together." She was sure she had a stupid lopsided smile on from trying to hide her bashfulness.

"Oh, right, haha. But you know it's different to see you outside." He said slowly as if trying to understand it himself.

"Oh…well y-you too." Reimi almost palmed herself in the forehead but Lloyd just smiled back.

"What can I get you?" He inquired mock-mimicking a formal, customer service tone.

"A Caramel Frappuccino, please" Reimi replied, softly laughing.

"Okay, that'll be three pounds twenty."

As Reimi rooted around in her purse she came to the dreadful realization she didn't have enough money.

"What's wrong?"

"Erm… I don't think I have enough money." Reimi said as she finished the last of her foraging, "Sara, sorry but could I borrow some change? I'll pay you before the day finishes, I promise,"

Before Sara had a chance to respond they heard, "I can help you with that.". All three turned towards a young man with a kindly smile. He looked a few years older than Reimi, maybe about twenty-three. Lloyd looked at him questioningly.

Smiling awkwardly and blushing slightly, she nervously declined, "Erm… thank you so much but that's okay."

Reimi, although not confident in herself, was not naïve. She had already assumed where this was heading, after all, the guy's countenance was not exactly discreet.

"Well…actually it won't be free. In exchange I'd like to take you out." He coolly explained.

"Out? Out where?" Lloyd asked confused, innocently raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's really okay my friend can help me out." Reimi told him shyly.

"No, no, that's okay Reimi. I think you should let this nice gentleman buy it for you." Sara sung out, obviously finding this amusing. Reimi couldn't help but show her reluctance at the situation.

"I'm sorry, are you seeing someone?" He asked presumably.

"Ehh, well…no…but…"

"Then what's the problem?"

"Well…well…" She was having a hard time coming up with an excuse and she didn't like the idea of rejecting anyone or hurting their feelings so, "Erm, okay."

"Great," He grinned, "Can I get your number then, so I can call you about the details?" He finished as he handed out some money towards Lloyd.

"Wait! Reimi, what's going on?" Lloyd's eyebrows were furrowed up tightly.

"What don't you get? He's asking her out." Sara said in a 'are you an idiot?' type of way.

"To go where though?" He questioned sounding even more concerned and irritated.

"Probably to have dinner together or something. You know, what people normally do on a date." She enlightened in bewilderment at his ignorance.

"…A date?" Lloyd repeated, losing himself in thought.

"Hey! You do have other customers, you know!" Someone in the queue a few people down vexed out. Nevertheless Lloyd didn't seem to notice.

Reimi was glad Sara was there to elucidate on the matter…she would feel too embarrassed to do it herself. She really wished this wasn't happening in front of him.

Lloyd 'woke up' and looked at the money the supposed 'gentleman' was handing him, then at the man himself, then at Reimi.

"Keep it." He punched some buttons on the cash register and looked up firmly at Reimi, "Your drink will be waiting for you at the end of the counter."

"Huh?" Reimi blurted out.

"I'm paying for her," The stranger heatedly disputed.

"No you're not. I am." Lloyd reprimanded. "Yours is already ready, so you should leave the queue area as you're holding up the people behind."

"What?" The man snarled. Reimi sensed the bad atmosphere and quickly intervened.

"Well, thanks for the offer but things are sorted now and we really have to be getting back to work, as you probably do too." She quickly collected her drink with Sara's and power-walked away.

"Wait, what?" She heard the guy say but she was already back out on the street.

"Haha" Sara laughed enthusiastically.

"Don't laugh, that was really scary!"

"Scary? I'd say funny. Two guys fighting over a girl not even realizing it, haha."

"No it wasn- no, what? They weren't fighting over me. Lloyd's my friend."

"Well, he clearly doesn't see it that way." She said, still chuckling.

Reimi continued to protest all the way back to their building, but she couldn't help showing a little smile.

* * *

"Here," Reimi said whilst handing out some change as they arrived home that night.

"What's this for?" Lloyd looked incredulously at the money.

"It's what I owe you for the drink earlier," Reimi clarified.

"Oh, don't worry about that." He replied nonchalantly.

"But you helped me out so much, this is the le-"

"I was happy to help, that guy was no good anyway," Lloyd grumbled at the memory.

"…right." She spoke uncertainly. Reimi wondered for the first time how much knowledge or awareness Lloyd had about romance and dating. As he looked up to check her reply, she just pocketed the change and gave a reassuring smile - doubt and happiness wreaking havoc in equal turn through her mind.


	9. You're One Of Us Now

**A/N** – Really sorry this is such a short chapter but I've been super busy recently and I wanted to update! There'll be longer updates once the holidays begin but for now I don't have much time to write. Hope this chapter will do for the time being! I also started to illustrate bits on my new tumblr; lloydart . tumblr . com (without the spaces). Enjoy!

By all accounts, Lloyd was a fully integrated member of the house now. He was quickly eased into the weekly grocery shop, (which now included items of food he liked or wanted to try), as well as having a say in their gaming nights and film marathons. Elsa checked on him less and less and even gave him back his 'fake' swords. It was a sign that he was really becoming a solid part of their lives.

This realization made him more uneasy then happy though; he didn't _want_ a new life or a new world, he wanted his old one and seemed to be getting further and further away. Not that he wasn't enjoying himself, but things felt serious now. They felt _final_.

He decided to go out for a walk on his own.

Amy watched him through the window with dismay. Her attempt to join him had been flat-out refused.

"What's wrong with Lloyd tonight?"

Elsa shrugged. "Man stuff,"

Reimi looked up from the television show she and Elsa were watching, opened her mouth as if to speak, then thought better of it and turned back to the screen, silent.

"Ohhhh, I wanna go too," Amy continued to whine.

"Look, while he's out, why don't the three of us just relax," Elsa remarked dryly. "It's nice having the house boy-free, even if it's just for a little while. I can't walk around naked with him here,"

"You never did that anyway," Reimi laughed.

"Not to your knowledge," Elsa smiled. Reimi couldn't tell if she was joking and shook her head in mock-disapproval.

Amy made a few more unintelligible noises before joining the other two seated around the television.

"It's not like he's going anywhere special, he's just walking up and down the main road. I could go out too?"

"The main road?" Reimi echoed.

"Leave him be," Elsa commanded and Amy stayed silent, eventually becoming too wrapped up in the show to remember her annoyance. Reimi excused herself and headed to her room, turning on her small MacBook computer and heading online.

Lloyd came back a few hours later.

Amy had long since gone to bed, knowing she had an early start the next day, and Elsa was still engrossed in her television dramas but Reimi was waiting for the telltale knock and rose silently to answer it.

'We should get Lloyd a set of keys…' she mused, crossing the space between the living room and the door. Although would Elsa think that was a step too far?

Any plans she had begun to formulate were cut short, however, when she saw Lloyd's face. His eyes were cast down, despondent and his greeting words held no warmth. He had been crying, is what her instincts told her.

"Welcome back," she said timidly, her breath making little eddies of cloud in front of her as the cold air rushed in.

"Thanks," he murmured, trudging inside and taking off one of his new jackets, a few specks of rain glistening on its collar.

Elsa raised a hand in acknowledgement but didn't face away from the TV.

"Do you… do you want a drink, Lloyd?" Reimi continued slowly, unsure.

"No, I should get to bed," He still hadn't looked at her.

As he was about to walk away she gently grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey, Lloyd? I found out there's a monthly seminar at a nearby university, concerning other dimensions and worlds. Maybe… Maybe it would be worth going to see one?"

Lloyd's eyes widened and he spun back. "R-really?"

"Yeah, well, actually I got tickets, I hope you don't mind,"

Lloyd beamed. "That sounds great, that would actually be really really great. Thank you, Reimi!" he surprised her with a quick hug, Reimi blushed and pushed him away quickly.

"Amy's already asleep now but I can ask her about taking you tomorrow,"

Lloyd's face fell a little. "Amy?"

"Well, I could only get two tickets and I thought…," she trailed off, not really wanting to carry on the conversation.

"…Why don't I just go with you? If it's close to our work, doesn't that make more sense?"

"Uh…," Reimi looked over her shoulder at Amy's closed bedroom door.

"Don't you want to go with me?" Lloyd asked, sounding a bit hurt.

Reimi immediately turned back to face him. "Of course I do!"

"Okay then," He smiled at her and she felt her heart beat a little faster. "Let's discuss it some more tomorrow,"

As they said goodnight and Lloyd headed to bed, Reimi sat down on the sofa next to Elsa. She looked at her out of the corner of her eye and realized her housemate had fallen asleep. She waved a hand in front of her face to be sure. No response. Reimi sighed in relief.

Elsa was never one to take sides or tattle-tale but Reimi felt the need to gain her approval that she had done the right thing. However, if Elsa was now asleep then it wouldn't matter. She stood up, turned off the TV, grabbed a blanket to drape over her then also headed to bed.

As the bedroom door closed, Elsa's eyelids fluttered open.

"Good for you, Reimi,"


	10. A Hint To Home

**A/N** – Once again sorry you guys had to wait awhile for an update. Been crazy here recently! But it's all good now and I have free time again so onto chapter 10! (Also, Merry Christmas in case I don't update before then).

Reimi didn't mention anything about the seminar to Amy, and neither did Lloyd, and she thought it was better that way. Besides, she was the one who had bought the tickets and thought up the idea, so it seemed more natural for her to go. The point of the seminar was to cheer Lloyd up, not as a date or anything, which would be exactly how Amy saw it.

As she worriedly pondered these things over breakfast the morning of the seminar, Lloyd leaving for work brought her out of her thoughts. He had cheered up so much since that night and Reimi was happy that he wasn't taking any more long walks or looking down. He ruffled her hair affectionately as he left and Reimi fought back with her cereal spoon, making a wild aim for his back, which Lloyd dodged easily.

"Gonna have to do better than that, Rem…," he taunted, and left with a short wave.

Reimi smiled at the use of her nickname, then sighed and picked the spoon up off the floor to deposit it in the sink.

"Good morning," she jumped and quickly spun round to face Amy, guilt causing the blood to rush to her face. She was about to spurt out a hurried apology, for what - she wasn't sure - when, with a sigh, she realized Amy was more occupied trying to fit through her bedroom door whilst cocooned in her duvet.

"M-morning," Reimi stammered back, then headed over to help her flat-mate. "You got college today?"

"Yeah," Amy grumbled. "But not til later so I thought I'd veg out in front of the TV for a few hours first. Wonder if Jeremy Kyle's on yet…" she freed herself then plonked down on the floor in front of the TV, searching for the remote. "You going to work?"

"Yeah, in a little while," Reimi stated, not wanting to continue the conversation. "I should get ready,"

"Oh ok. Also, Reimi? I'll be out tonight so can you take care of the shopping for me? We just need some essentials since I think they'll run out by the end of the day, I'd ask Elsa but she got in late last night and I might miss her on my way out,"

"Er, yeah sure," Reimi hurriedly agreed, eager to escape.

"I'll leave the list on the table later for you,"

"Yep!" Reimi assented, then rushed into her bedroom and shut the door.

* * *

After an unbearably long day, she met Lloyd outside Starbucks that night, as usual (with him being late, as usual) then bused the thirty minutes to the university campus in companionable chatter.

As they arrived, Reimi checked around for the building she had seen online, nestled between the city's skyscrapers. It was technically an art college, not a university, and easy to spot, since it had an intricate grey honeycomb design for its exterior. Lloyd gasped appreciatively as it came into view, then headed straight for the door, while Reimi followed just behind.

She had never been to university, instead she went straight into employment after her A Levels, so she was a bit cautious of what it would be like.

As they entered, they saw a lot of students still milling about, some lounging on chairs near the entrance, others queuing up for dinner at the cafeteria. Reimi nervously approached the nearest group, who were standing just ahead of them, and asked for directions.

Upon hearing her request and the seminar to which she was headed, a couple of the group swapped meaningful looks, while another giggled. This was her first indicator that something was not quite right, but she brushed it off and, after thanking them, headed in the direction they had given without looking back. Lloyd didn't appear to notice and was happy to just go along without comment.

As they reached the door to the lecture theatre, she had her second indicator that something was wrong, when no one appeared to check their tickets. Lloyd shrugged and headed straight in but Reimi fussed around for a second, glancing here and there for someone to confirm their presence. Eventually Lloyd re-appeared at her side.

"We're the only ones here," he whispered.

She frowned and gazed past him. She could make out rows and rows of desks turned to face the front, with an elderly gentleman setting up a projector towards the very back, but none of them were filled. As she hesitated a few seconds longer, his voice came rumbling up to them, deep and strong.

"Come in, come in, I don't bite,"

It was settled; he had seen them, so there was no going back. Lloyd gave her a nod and led the way, picking seats near the very front after more encouragement from the Professor.

After they had sat down, he strode across the stage, at a surprisingly easy gait for a man clearly in his eighties, to shake their hands and introduce himself as Professor Charles Brigden. Before retiring, he explained, he taught various sciences at a University in Queensland, Australia, but had settled down in England to continue his work at this University.

"Theories on other worlds and parallel universes aren't exactly something I can provide hard facts and evidence for, so I've had to make do where I can, and this particular college was very obliging to my needs. A small donation a month and I can lecture on what I like, provided it isn't anything harmful,"

"Where's everyone else?" Lloyd broke in.

"Mostly it's this campus' students who attend my seminars since it's an encompassing part of their enrolling fee to get in to any lecture on the grounds without pay. Although I am well aware they come not to learn, but to ridicule me,"

"Oh Professor…," Reimi started sadly. "Aren't you bothered by that?"

The Professor readjusted his glasses on his nose. "No, dear, just as long as there are people who will come to listen, for whatever reason, I will continue to teach on the odd chance something will inspire, or get through. Now, I better get this set up before the rest arrive," he concluded, then strode back towards his laptop and the projector.

Reimi quelled the voices in her head and sat back without further complaint. Lloyd was eagerly drawn forwards, waiting for the Professor's words but was bored well before they could begin, since they had arrived twenty minutes early and had to wait for the theatre to fill up.

* * *

He was entertainment, Reimi concluded, half an hour later.

She had, at first, been drawn to his confident manner at their meeting, but whilst lecturing, he had gotten carried away and excited by his own theories. He seemed vastly unaware of his audience, although he did give occasional eye contact, and would mostly talk about old texts or hearsay on anything related to the subject. Reimi finally understood the students' reactions from before.

Lloyd was growing more and more restless. He had stopped paying attention a long time ago and fully reclined back in his seat. It was only when he was considering pretending to need a toilet break to sever the monotony that something captured his attention.

"You brought a notebook?" he whispered in disbelief. Reimi had suddenly hunched forwards, book on her knees, writing furiously.

"Shhh, let me just get this," she murmured, hand moving frantically across the page.

Lloyd sat back again but a bright smile had formed across his face. He briefly tried to return attention to the lecture but it was useless, so he continued to stare at her every now and then, watching her lips form a pout as she concentrated.

* * *

"Well, that was a waste of time…." He groaned an hour later as they were walking home.

"No it wasn't!" Reimi protested, taking out her notebook. "We learned so much! It was really interesting,"

"Like what? What did you write down?" he replied, curiously.

"Like… that Otherworldly portals tend to open at fixed times, which often fall on solstice's or equinoxes. They are brief rips in the fabric of reality, which reveal themselves for only a few seconds aaand," she scanned her notes a bit further, eyes squinting as she reached the end of the page "argh. I can't read the rest of my writing," she bit her lip worriedly and looked up to see Lloyd staring at her.

"W-what?"

"You're amazing, Reimi," he said enthusiastically. "You got all that? I just remember the thing about the… the… uh, I forget. Anyway, it might not be true,"

"Well, it's July now… That means the Midsummer solstice has just passed. If this guy is right, the next one won't be until September or maybe even Halloween, two to three months from now…"

"So, I'm here for another three months?" Lloyd sighed.

"Yes, well maybe, but… Look on the bright side," she began fishing around for a good reason, which suddenly flowed from her lips, "When you get to see Kratos again, there's no way he won't stay with you this time,"

Lloyd looked at her a bit surprised. "What?"

"What?" Reimi echoed back.

"Oh… just. Do you really think so?"

"Of course. He obviously loves you a lot, Lloyd. He was going to sacrifice himself to open the seal to Origin because he believed in your ideals. You should believe in him now,"

"You remembered all that. You believe me?" He stopped walking and happily turned to her.

"I…," Reimi clutched her notebook to her chest, "You're my friend, Lloyd. I believe you wouldn't lie to me,"

It wasn't the exact answer he wanted but it was close enough.

"Reimi… Thank you. And for taking me here tonight. I had fun," he grinned, his cheeks a little pink.

"N-no, you didn't," Reimi laughed and started walking again. "You said he was crazy earlier,"

"Doesn't mean I didn't have a good time," he said softly. Reimi couldn't pluck up the courage to face him and was about to orchestrate a reply when she noticed their bus roll past.

"Ahhh! Quick, the last bus!" As she ran ahead, hearing Lloyd's footsteps drum from behind, she hoped that this conversation wouldn't continue when they were both seated on the bus, though she knew she would relive it later tonight.

* * *

The next morning her happy reverie was broken by Amy in the kitchen.

"Where are they?"

"Huh? Where's what?"

"The groceries,"

It was only then that Reimi remembered their conversation from the previous morning. "Shoot! I-I forgot, I'm so sorry Amy, I'll quickly run out and get some now,"

"Where were you last night?"

"I-I was at work. I stayed late to practice the piano,"

"And Lloyd?" Reimi was shocked by how bluntly Amy spoke.

"He-"

"Lloyd was here with me. Calm down, Amy. What's wrong?"

"Elsa?" Reimi gasped. Their oldest housemate appeared unexpectedly in the doorway.

"Oh, he was? I didn't see him when I came in," Amy immediately brightened.

"Judging by the time he got up and left this morning, he had an early night because of work," Elsa suggested.

"Ah. Okay. Guess I'll see him tonight then, have a good day guys. Reimi, don't forget the groceries," Amy winked, then headed back to her room.

Reimi was ready to thank Elsa right away, but was immediately cut off when Amy's door closed and Elsa drew her into the bathroom.

"Reimi, be careful. You know what Amy's like," Elsa hissed to her quietly," She'll almost definitely get bored of Lloyd before long but, that aside - I don't want to see you get hurt. Or Amy, and the way this is ending up, there's going to be a big fight, and that would make our living arrangement unbearable for everyone,"

Reimi unconsciously hugged her arms around herself. "Elsa… I don't-"

"I'm not saying to ignore him, but take some time away from him. During lunch, walking home, even here if you have to. You're getting too close too fast, can't you see this is a sinking ship?"

Reimi brushed Elsa off. "I-I just thought…"

But she couldn't think. She didn't know how to continue that sentence and instead felt the hot sting of tears from behind her eyes.

"Reimi…" Elsa gently pried Reimi's arms away from her sides. "This will make things better, I promise. Go wash up, I'll talk to you later," And after a brief kiss on the forehead, she left Reimi alone in the bathroom.


	11. Coping Mechanisms

**A/N **– I read through the entire fic again recently and I have made quite a lot more spelling/grammar mistakes then I realized D: once I'm done I'll probably go back and correct but for now bear with me and my limited free time. Just concentrating on getting it out of my brain before it fades. Thanks to those who read and especially to those who review! It's pretty much the main reason I'm updating as often as I am. More reviews = faster updates! Here's chapter 11~

She hadn't realized how much she had started depending on Lloyd.

She hadn't realized that she had forgotten her previous ideal to build up a wall and get him home as fast as possible.

She hadn't realized how deeply she had started liking him.

It was a mistake.

The outing was a mistake. She didn't have many friends who were boys, so of course she had started liking him. It didn't _mean_ anything, it was just a _crush_. She should have told Amy and Elsa about the seminar from the beginning and that would have been the end of it.

Besides, there was no way that Lloyd could have feelings for her in return. She had been in this situation before and was not eager for a repeat.

The coffee shop incident and conversation from last night briefly sprang into her mind but she quelled those thoughts before they could blossom and once again stepped away from the entire subject.

She wouldn't suggest any more outings.

She had made a mistake and would try and ensure it was her last.

* * *

The following week Reimi stayed late doing overtime every evening and thought of enough viable reasons to avoid spending her lunch with Lloyd.

If Lloyd noticed this he didn't say anything and Reimi took it as another sign that she had been right and it was just a silly, one-sided, crush.

Things immediately improved at home and Amy became a normal human being again.

From the snatched conversations they had had in the morning, Reimi gathered that the other girls had been keeping Lloyd busy. Elsa had gotten him a set of keys cut and Amy had bought him a new SIM card. The three of them had also made a new advertisement poster with Lloyd's updated phone number and spent an evening hanging them round the neighborhood.

It was hard for Reimi not to feel left out, but she was doing this for herself and for the best, so it was okay. She was okay, she would repeat to herself.

Once a few days had elapsed in this fashion, it felt like things got a bit easier, although it was exhausting having to spend so much time working and away from where she felt most comfortable.

* * *

The next Friday Reimi arrived home close to eleven pm, resting her head flat against the door for a few seconds in mental preparation, before turning the key in the lock and pushing it open.

"There you are!" she jumped, hearing Lloyd's voice immediately float across the room towards her. She faltered in her smile for just a second before facing him. "Reimi! Come sit down, sit down,"

"What are you guys all doing?" her words felt difficult to get out, it was strange to find her housemates all sitting together, especially since Elsa worked weekends and so normally had an early night on Fridays.

"Thank goodness you're here," the subject of her thoughts replied, though it wasn't without a smile, "Lloyd wouldn't let us sleep until you came back and got on with… whatever this is,"

Reimi apologized and Lloyd eagerly walked over and grasped her arm in his urgency, pulling her across the room towards the others where she sat down, without the opportunity to even take off her coat.

"What's all this about, Lloyd? It's not my birthday til November," Amy spoke gleefully, perching on the floor with her legs crossed like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Well," Lloyd started, reaching his hands out for something hidden under the table, "I got my first paycheck today and I really wanted to say… Thank you. For everything,"

He pulled some clumsily-newspaper-wrapped packages out, then handed one to each girl.

"Lloydie! You shouldn't have," Amy squealed, hugging hers close to her chest.

"See what it is and if you like it first," He said, rubbing his hand behind his head.

Amy didn't need telling twice. She ripped open the newspaper, and Reimi saw her pull out a string of cell phone charms.

"Sorry, I know it's not much, I saw it and thought of you so I got it," he rambled hastily, suddenly worried it wasn't good enough.

"Oh, Lloyd! I love it! It's great!" Amy threw herself forwards, enveloping Lloyd in a hug that nearly knocked the coffee table over. "It's so cute! And It made you think of me?"

Elsa hurriedly picked up the drink that was precariously wobbling on the table beside Amy. Lloyd politely disentangled himself.

"Sure. You're welcome,"

"Thank you, Lloyd. That was a nice gesture," Elsa sighed, handing Amy back her drink. She was holding up a box of what Reimi knew to be her favourite chocolates. Elsa's smile became more genuine after her eyes met Lloyd's and she nodded in gratitude.

Reimi gently grasped the present resting in her hands and carefully opened it up, one sheaf at a time. When the final wrapping fell away she saw it contained a paperweight of a little girl sitting at a piano.

"Do you like it, Reimi?" Lloyd asked, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

Reimi didn't reply. She continued to stare down at the small ornament nestled between her fingers. It looked so small and fragile resting there, almost out of place in the hands surrounding it. Hands which could easily have crushed and broken it down into little pieces. The thought surprised her and she couldn't find any words to say.

After a few seconds, a heavy silence descended and she realized her lack of response was another mistake. Hurriedly opening her mouth in a wide smile, she thanked Lloyd for his thoughtful gift. The sides of her mouth hurt as she pulled them up with a strain but she managed to keep her makeshift smile in place without trouble.

"Thank you Lloyd, it's great,"

For a second, as she finally met his eyes, she thought she saw an expression of hurt break across them, but then he was smiling and she wondered whether it had been there after all.

"Don't mention it,"

After a small pause, Amy once again reached across and tried to hug him, seemingly oblivious to the awkward tension that was now filling the room, suffocating Reimi.

She had to get out. She had to get out right _now**.**_

"S-sorry," Reimi stammered, grasping her bag where it rested beside her. "I just remembered, I think I dropped my iPod at the train station. I need to go get it," She stood upright and staggered shakily backwards, tearing her eyes from the three confused housemates in front of her, before rushing out the door, voices shouting behind her.

She ran.

Down the stairs, through the small foyer and out the back entrance, hoping to avoid being sighted from the window.

Did she like it? She laughed.

It was perfect. It was something she would have picked out for herself if she had come across it in the street. Everything about it reminded her of herself; that lonely little figure at the piano, small and fragile and insignificant.

She started to jog.

She didn't know where she was headed, she didn't care, she just wanted to keep moving. The wind rushing past her ears kept her from thinking and she concentrated on the sound of her heartbeat, which got louder and louder the more she ran.

Eventually she stopped and paused at the sound of her phone beeping.

3 missed calls. 1 new message.

One call from Elsa. Two from Lloyd. She dismissed them guiltily before reading the message, also from Lloyd.

"Are you okay? Please pick up."

She frowned. She couldn't not reply. It would make a bigger mess. Surely she was making things worse behaving this way.

She couldn't face a phone call though, so she wrote a text back.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine, sorry. Thank you for the ornament, it's great. I'll be home late, talking to the police, don't wait up."

She sent it, turned the phone off and slipped it back into her pocket.

Looking around properly for the first time, she realized she had reached the local high street. Most of the shops were boarded up but a yellow light seeped out from a closed door a few houses down.

Despite it being past eleven, Reimi was surprised to see this particular shop open, it had never been open before, although she had never really looked at the space between the co-op and the chemist. It was a new, but old-looking, record store.

She hesitated a second when she saw there were no other customers inside, but debated an empty record store was better than walking around in the dark, and thus headed inside.

There was only one shop assistant present, standing behind the till - a lady with long blonde hair wearing a hoodie with the shop's name on it. She glanced briefly up at Reimi as she entered, then returned her focus to the computer in front of her.

Reimi always felt awkward being the only customer in a shop but it was warm and sort of comforting in here so she looked away and started browsing. She searched around the classical music section for awhile before realizing she hadn't taken a single thing in. She couldn't concentrate, Lloyd's face kept flashing through her mind and the ornament she had pocketed after leaving the flat brushed against her leg as she moved, a constant reminder.

Deciding she'd have better luck in the rock and pop section, she was about to move when the shop assistant appeared behind her.

"Can I help you?"

Reimi spun round, surprised.

"Uh…! No, I'm sorry. Is it okay for me to be here this late?" she spoke the first thing that popped into her head and she blushed at how silly it sounded.

The girl stared at her with blank eyes, an expression not of happiness or unhappiness. Reimi found it a little unnerving.

"Of course. You can stay as long as you want," she reassured with a nod of the head.

Reimi felt her shoulders relax a little and returned the gesture with a small smile of thanks.

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

All of the bands that Reimi liked flew out of her head. "Er... A music. I mean… a CD,"

The girl looked around the shop, silently as if trying to home in and pin point what one would be best. Reimi gently laughed at her antics, however, the girl turned to Reimi, tilting her head in mild confusion.

…

Apparantly she was being serious.

Reimi laughed harder before looking up at the girl to check her mood and saw she was smiling slightly, well as much of a smile as the girl could seemed able to manage anyway.

"Well… Er… Can you help me find a good new song for my iPod?" she queried instead.

"I can try,"

Reimi stretched out her hand "I'm Reimi,"

"Beatrix,"

The two of them smiled.


	12. Rainy Days

**A/N** – Big thanks to lazy cat! Please everyone feel free to point out mistakes or things that don't seem right, I really should get a beta D: Also review! REVIEWWWWSSs I live for dem :'(

Lloyd watched in eager anticipation as Reimi unwrapped his gift.

He had put the most thought into hers and he hoped she would like it.

The tiny pianist figurine had been sitting at the front of an antique shop he encountered on a lunch break walk through Soho, and it suited her perfectly. The elegant figure so lost in her music, sitting where she looked best, a small smile adorning her lips. Not that he had ever seen her play, but this was what he had imagined she would look like in his mind's eye.

She was pulling the last bit of newspaper away now; he studied her face hopefully.

And froze as her whole body stiffened.

Was that a good or bad sign?

He was so nervous.

It was just a present.

Doubt wormed its way deep into his mind as the silence stretched. Why wasn't she saying anything? He couldn't think of any way the present could be taken as offense. Then-

"Thank you Lloyd, it's great,"

…

Why did she sound so… off? He couldn't quell the disappointment rising in his chest.

Wait, what was he even expecting anyway?

He hurriedly berated himself and smiled.

"Don't mention it,"

Suddenly, Amy was hugging him again, blocking his vision.

And Reimi was gone.

He shoved Amy aside and stood up, starting to run for the door but was stopped by Elsa who drew her arm across it, stopping him from leaving.

"Let's let her go for now,"

"Why!?"

Elsa didn't reply. Lloyd made as if to try and push past but stopped when he realized Elsa wasn't planning on moving.

He groaned and walked a few steps back.

"I don't understand. What happened? Did I do something wrong?"

"Elsa, maybe we should go after her, something must have happened," Amy spoke softly. Lloyd was surprised to find her sounding genuinely concerned.

"No. Let me try calling her," The older girl sharply intoned. Then, keeping her arm firmly planted by the door, she dialed Reimi's number and listened as it worked its way through ten rings before hitting the answer machine. She hung up.

"I'll stay awake and wait for her to come back. She's probably just had a long day,"

"I'm staying up too," Amy chipped in, though she couldn't help the yawn that escaped her lips shortly after.

"And me," Lloyd chimed in fiercely.

"You're both up waaay past your bedtime. And Lloyd you had a mammoth shift today, you need to rest,"

Lloyd continued to protest but Amy wearily gave in. "Please, wake me up if she's not back soon, Elsie,"

Elsa nodded and Amy retreated into her room, throwing Elsa one last confused look.

"I'm staying up," Lloyd repeated to Elsa.

"No, Lloyd… I think I'd be the better one to talk to her in this situation,"

"…Why?"

"Look. Reimi's been going through a lot of stress with work recently. I think we must have caught her in the middle of something, it was just bad timing, Lloyd,"

He clenched his fists tightly together. "I care about Reimi just as much as you. I may be the newest member of this house but that doesn't mean I don't deserve to be told these sort of things as much as you!"

Elsa smiled, genuine warmth in her voice. "I know, I'm really glad to hear you say that,"

He faltered and struggled to find a response.

So instead he turned around and headed to his room.

Closing the door behind without a backwards glance, he fished his cell phone out from the dresser and dialed Reimi's number, twice, to no response.

Was it his fault? Somehow he felt as though he had upset Reimi, despite what Elsa had said. She had only run out _after_ opening his present after all.

"_I think I'd be the better one to talk to her in this situation."_

What did that mean?

He decided to send Reimi a text and waited until his phone lit up with confirmation of her reply. When he got it he sighed, half in relief, half in discontent. He quickly drafted another message.

"Do you want me to come meet you? I know we haven't known each other very long but I'm always here to help you, just like you've been there to help me. Don't make me a charity case,"

He'd tried to invest some humor in that last sentence but it seemed to come across more as desperate and pathetic instead.

Lloyd leant his head against his phone, gripping it with both hands and tried to think of something better to write.

…

And woke the next day still fully clothed and holding his phone in both hands.

'Must've fallen asleep…,'

Groggily, Lloyd tried to recall the events of the previous night.

_Reimi._

He hastily got up and headed into the kitchen. The house was quiet, but Amy was at the counter, eating toast.

"Hey, Lloyd," She smiled as she noticed him.

"Do you know if Reimi came home last night?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Elsa didn't wake us up but they were both out by the time I got up,"

Lloyd slumped against the wall, defeated. He felt so… disappointed.

What now?

"So, Lloyd?" Amy asked cautiously. He acknowledged her with a glance. She had swiveled round in her chair and was now facing him full on.

"I'm meeting some friends in town today, but I thought… do you want to go get lunch first? My treat,"

"I thought I'd stay home today," Lloyd replied evasively, he wasn't really feeling up for anything at the moment.

"Please, I have to pay you back for that gift you got me!"

He shook his head. "I got them to pay _you_ back for having me, it's nothing,"

"Noooooo!"

Amy continued to harass Lloyd with pleadings and 'it'll be fun's until he eventually caved in.

"Alright, alright, just… let me get changed…"

"Ooh! Good idea, I'll get changed too," Amy squeaked excitedly and was off before Lloyd had time to protest. Wasn't she already dressed for the day? He shook his head, a hint of a smile on his lips, then went to get himself cleaned up.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and with what Lloyd thought was a lot of unnecessary faffing around in the bathroom by Amy, they left the house.

Taking a bus from the top of the main road to the next town over, Amy chattered excitedly and kept the conversation moving along. Lloyd could only summon the effort to nod or question now and again. He mostly took to staring out of the window.

He hadn't been to this part of the city before and a bit of curiosity overcame him. There was still so much he didn't know about this world and now that he had time, he felt much more open to exploring it. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

If only he could be bothered enough to care.

"Here we are!"

As they clambered down the steps and off the bus, Amy grabbed onto Lloyd's arm, drawing him round to an open doorway on their left.

He squinted; it was dark inside, and he couldn't see many other people.

"This place looks expensive," he muttered under his breath. For some reason, he felt unwilling to enter.

"Nah, not really. Anyway, it's my treat! I've been good with my student loan this term, so…," Amy broke off and led them inside, still holding on to Lloyd's arm, "Table for two, please!"

"Follow me," said the waitress, ready at the entrance.

She led them to a table near the back of the restaurant and Lloyd wriggled out of Amy's grasp then sat at the seat indicated. The waitress handed them two menus and departed.

He looked around feeling even more uncomfortable. There was no proper lighting, only soft rose bulbs and candles. Even the sunlight from outside barely penetrated the room.

"So!" He was brought back to the present by Amy. "What are you going to get?"

Time passed pleasantly enough. He found that with Amy, she calmed down if she got her own way and could actually be sort of nice to talk to. Maybe not about the things that were important to him, but day-to-day stuff was easy enough.

"So, what are your co-workers like?" Amy asked as they were tucking in to their starters. "Anyone nice?"

"Yeah, they're alright. I'm not really allowed to talk to them at work. I have to be 'devoted to the customers'," Lloyd sighed.

"I see. And is it an equal gender split?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, do you work with mainly girls or boys," Amy asked casually, poking her food around the plate with a fork.

"Er… I can't say, I really don't know," Lloyd frowned. He hadn't thought about it before. "I guess it's pretty even, but I only work there part-time. You could always visit and find out."

"I'd love to visit!" Amy exclaimed, making eye contact again. "I would've sooner but since it's nearly the summer holidays I have so many deadlines and classes…,"

Lloyd just smiled. "Well, when you're free you can visit, I'll give you a discount,"

"Haha, thanks!" she grinned, resting her hand on top of Lloyd's. He politely withdrew it after a moment to return to his meal. Amy paused then, "Excuse me for a sec, I need the ladies,"

She skipped off and Lloyd rolled his eyes, not unkindly.

After a minute or two of waiting, he got his phone out to check for messages and realized he didn't end up sending a text last night.

'Maybe I should send one now?'

After a minute or two of thought he ended with; "Hey Rem, where are you today? Are you home tonight?" and sent it just as Amy returned.

Slipping the phone back into his pocket they continued their meal until, after what felt like several hours later, they were ready to leave.

The afternoon sun had already begun its downward descent and Lloyd spied the bus stop just across the road. He realized Amy was staring at him and awkwardly started on a farewell.

"I'll be heading home now then, thank you for the meal, Amy,"

"Anytime, it's nice just having you and me talk,"

"Y-yeah," Lloyd nodded, feeling that with all the silence punctuating their conversation she was expecting something more from him then he knew what to give. "Well… goodbye,"

"Bye," then she leant forwards and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Lloyd burned up.

"A-ah," he held up his hands in defense, too surprised to say anything.

Amy tilted her head, little spots of pink on her cheek then laughed. "See you later, Lloyd!" and winked as she headed off down the opposite end of the street.

Lloyd watched in disbelief for a second, holding his cheek where Amy had kissed it then, when she was out of sight, left to catch the bus home.

'Girls are so weird…' he thought to himself.

* * *

That evening Lloyd finally got a reply to his text.

He had spent most of the day sat by the window again, just thinking stuff over. Things were getting complicated and he had no idea why. He didn't know what was going on with Reimi and he certainly didn't understand what was going on with Amy.

Just as his stomach let out a hungry growl, telling him it was time for dinner, his phone alerted him to the promise of a new text. He hurriedly opened it when he saw it was from Reimi.

"Out with a friend, back late,"

He stared at the screen, eyes narrowed. Reimi had never mentioned any other friends before, though he supposed she must have them. He thought about replying to the message but was tired of getting empty responses. She couldn't stay out forever, he reasoned, next time he saw her he was sure they could sort it out.

* * *

The weekend and subsequent week continued to drag and brought downpours of rain with it. Lloyd began to doubt he would ever see Reimi again since she was up early and out late almost every night with this 'friend', or at work.

He felt tired from it all, he felt lonely, and most of all he really missed Reimi.

Amy was also getting to be quite clingy and Lloyd had started making an effort to avoid her. Was this what had happened to him with Reimi? He panicked. For that matter, when had it become so important to him? It didn't make sense. Why did this feel like such a big deal?

He spent most of his free time sat on his bed, pretending to have early nights, whilst playing the games on his phone. He wasn't focused or interested enough to do much else.

Where was she tonight? He wondered.

Suddenly he heard the sound of keys in the front door. He bolted upright. Amy and Elsa were already home so…

He listened.

"Reimi!" Amy's voice called out.

Lloyd stood up.

He wanted to immediately rush out and question Reimi, but suppressed his urge to hear her conversation with Amy. Despite feeling a little rude for eavesdropping, he leant in close to the door to catch what they were saying.

"…barely seen you around, I'm really worried you're gonna overwork yourself,"

"No, I'm fine… Actually, I was about to go out again and see a friend for a bit,"

Who was this friend of Reimi's? Was it someone she had just met or had she known them for much longer? Lloyd returned his attention to the girls' chatter.

"Nononono I haven't spent any time with you in ages. We're all gonna sit down and do something!"

"Amy, ple-"

"Okay. That's it. We're playing a game,"

"W-what?"

"I don't care what it is but we're playing one, tonight… right now!"

"No, really I…"

Lloyd heard Reimi continue to protest, then the sound of footsteps, so he backed away from the door just as Amy quickly rapped her knuckles against it. Lloyd managed to pick his phone back up so it looked like he was doing something, then Amy opened the door without waiting for confirmation, and popped her head round the side.

"Reimi's back and we're going to play a game, meet you in the front room! I've gotta try waking Elsa up…"

Lloyd nodded and she left, keeping the door open a fraction of an inch behind her. He could see Reimi through it, sitting with her back to the door, crouched in front of the Gamecube with a lot of wires in her hands.

It was now or never.

"So, you're back…" He spoke, opening the door a little more but remaining in his room.

She spun round.

"Ah! Yeah. Hi, Lloyd,"

He searched his mind for something to say, which approach to take. He was feeling angry, relieved, hurt and excited all at the same time, and it was very confusing.

"Are you okay?" Reimi asked in a small voice.

"Am I okay… Am _I_ okay…? …What about you?"

Reimi frowned. "I'm fine," He watched as she carefully changed her expression to a smile. "Are you going to play a game with us?"

"Reimi," Lloyd walked forwards, dismissing her comment. "What happened that night? Did I upset you?"

"No, of course not,"

Anger gave way to frustration. "Please, _please_ tell me if I have. I want to know. I want things to be _normal_ again, you've been so distant… I miss seeing you at the coffee shop,"

Reimi bit her lip. "I miss you too,"

"Then what's wrong?"

Reimi looked at her hands, in thought. "I guess I've been taking work too seriously recently, things have been super busy at the office and… I made a new friend,"

Lloyd scowled. "Well… Your other friends miss you too, you know,"

Reimi lit up a little. "Really? You guys missed me? It's only been a few days,"

"Yeah well, it felt like a lot longer," he sighed, closing his eyes and missing the expression of happiness on Reimi's face. "Just… promise you won't work too hard, okay?" he opened his eyes again.

"Alright…" she replied quietly, the smile still playing across her lips.

"Okay, good, cause otherwise I'm going to have to go in there and drag you away," he laughed, gentle relief washing over him.

"She's awake!" Amy cut in. Reimi immediately turned from Lloyd and continued setting up the wires for the game.

"What are we playing?" Elsa grumbled, still half-asleep.

"I thought we could try _Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles_. It's the game I bought when we went to London that time," Reimi held up the cover for the others to get a look.

"There are 4 classes to choose from and 8 characters from each class, so we can all personalize who we want to be. Also we need to use Game Boy Advances as controllers I brought my old ones for us to use," she explained.

They spent awhile going over each of them and picking their names.

"Oooh, there really are so many characters to pick from!" Amy gasped excitedly. "I'll be this lady, she's sexy,"

"Magic users, for the win," Elsa deadpanned, though Lloyd could tell from the controller already gripped in her hands that she was excited too. Especially since she didn't play games very often.

"Who are you going to be, Reimi?" Amy asked, looking over at Reimi's Game Boy Advance screen.

"Ah… I like all-rounders. So I'm going to be a Clavat,"

Amy gasped. "We nearly have all the classes! Lloyd you HAVE to be a Lilty,"

"What, those little vegetable things?! Why?" He moaned.

"Becaaaause," Amy couldn't think up an additional excuse.

"Becaaaause what?" Lloyd laughed.

"Lilty's have the best attack stats. They're also quite speedy," Reimi added quietly.

"Oh… Really?"

"And they can lift heavy enemies,"

"Cool," Lloyd nodded cheerfully and with a smile from Reimi he was sold.

"Alright, now we can get started," Amy cheered.

They watched through the introductory sequence and beginning of the game quietly. Then, as it got to 'the wordy crap', as Elsa put it, she decided to make up her own story for the characters.

"We're on a mission to get coal for a general furniture mine, and they've run out of chairs so we need to go get some more,"

"Wait, what?" Amy spluttered, confused, still trying to concentrate on the screen. "A mine that produces _furniture_? And what are we doing? Collecting chairs or coal? You said both,"

"Yes," Elsa stated.

"…Yes, what?" queried Lloyd.

"Yes, yes," Elsa replied.

Reimi burst out with laughter. Then, "Whose that, Elsa?" she pointed at the mayor of their village, who was currently onscreen.

"That's Rupert Bingbong. He needs a back massage. Lloyd; volunteer,"

"W-what the-! Why me?!"

They continued into the game for about an hour and Lloyd was happy to see Reimi's demeanor had completely changed. She seemed happy again, it cheered him up too.

As they were shutting the system down after completing the first dungeon, Amy mentioned she was thirsty so Reimi went to go make them all some hot chocolate.

"Ahh, the famous brew of the Reimi clan…" Elsa laughed. Lloyd stared, he had never seen her like this before. 'She might be a bit drunk…' He finally realized.

Reimi smiled and headed to the kitchen. "So, what have you guys been up to the last few days?"

"Nothing much," Elsa replied, reclining on one of the sofas.

"Yeah… Same old, same old," Amy continued. "But, oh! Me and Lloyd had lunch together the other day,"

Elsa stopped smiling and turned to look at Reimi in the kitchen.

"O-oh nice. How was it?" she replied, her voice faint.

"Good, but the service was so slow. Never go to the _Aqua Brasserie_,"

Lloyd didn't know why but he hated the turn the conversation had taken. Why were things so tense now? And why did he feel like it was something he needed to hide?

After that, the housemates stayed up a little later chatting, but it felt like the night ended on an awkward note, though he did feel as if a weight had somewhat lifted from his chest.

And the next day Reimi ate her lunch at the coffee shop again.

**REVIEW PLEASE! I will love you forever! And sorry if this chapter feels a little rushed, I really had trouble ending it but it'll continue properly next time!**


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